IRON MOUNTAIN — Northern Lights YMCA is assuming ownership of the former Crystal Lake Community Center, eight years after entering into a lease agreement with Dickinson County.

Membership at the center is now about 3,000 and some $4 million soon will be invested to renovate the building and expand programs, Center Director Jonathan Ringel said.

It was always agreed the sale would be for a token sum. With the county board’s approval Monday, the YMCA will handle all of the center’s tenants and maintenance.

“This is a really good ending,” Commissioner Joe Stevens said. “This board applauds you and your staff and the (YMCA) board,” he told Ringel.

The center, built in 1972, was in danger of closing in 2010 when the county agreed to lease it to the newly formed YMCA with an option to buy. Membership has grown steadily and the YMCA recently completed a capital fundraising campaign that eclipsed its initial goal of $2.4 million. The campaign then received an anonymous donation of $2 million.

The YMCA may start work as soon as November. Swimming pool upgrades will take place next summer and all work should be completed roughly a year from now.

“This is an historic day, really,” Commissioner Ann Martin said.

Monday’s agreement will allow the center to lease an adjacent county-owned parking lot but excludes the premises of the nearby Dickinson County Senior Center. An easement was granted for installation of a new water line to service the YMCA.

In other action, the county board:

— Noted its finance committee meeting has been rescheduled to 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 17, in the board’s conference room.

— Heard Controller Brian Bousley report the county is in search of a new vehicle for animal control.

— Learned that a contract change order likely will be needed with Superior Steel of Iron Mountain for construction of a new hangar for CSA Air at Ford Airport. A larger aircraft must be accommodated at an additional cost of about $35,000, Bousley said. A hangar also is being built for MJ Electric. The county will recoup construction costs through lease and rental charges.