“It been a great 80 years and we’re looking forward to 80 more,” club Secretary Susie Fox told the Dickinson County Board of Commissioners during a presentation Monday.

Success of the venture hinges on the club’s ability to secure nearly $3 million through the Great Lakes Recreation Fund, which was created by the Michigan Legislature last year to aid tourism. Much of that assistance, however, would be in the form of a loan, which makes local contributions crucial, Fox said.

The club hasn’t requested any county dollars but does need its cooperation in having timber cleared from a couple areas of county property.

There was no hesitation from commissioners Monday in pledging support.

A VIEW OF the existing Pine Mountain ski jump venue. (Theresa Proudfit/Daily News photo)

“This can’t be a maybe,” Commissioner Joe Stevens said. “The work you guys put in is unbelievable.”

In recent decades, Pine Mountain has hosted Continental Cup events sanctioned by the International Ski Federation, or FIS, but the ski club is under increasing pressure to bring the historic slide up to modern standards.

FIS has granted temporary certifications to the club on a yearly basis, but with the planned project a five-year certification could be secured, said Paul Bujold, club treasurer.

The club hopes to begin removing the existing scaffold in May and erect a new slide and ceramic track, lighting, a warming hut and judges tower well before winter. To save on costs, a construction elevator could be rented for skier use during competitions, along with wind screens, Bujold said.

FIS apparently has no issues with the club, only the aging venue. In fact, in planning World Cup events, officials have favored Pine Mountain over both Park City, Utah, which hosted the 2002 Winter Olympics, and Lake Placid, N.Y., which last hosted the Winter Games in 1980.

“They want it in Iron Mountain,” Bujold said of a future World Cup visit to America, explaining the Kiwanis carry a reputation as some of “the best organizers in the world.”

The annual Continental Cup tournament draws weekend attendance that regularly ranges to 20,000 spectators.

Pine Mountain hosted men’s World Cup events in 1996 and 2000, but FIS now envisions a combined men’s and women’s event that would bring 110 elite skiers from at least 15 nations to the popular Upper Peninsula attraction, initially built with Works Progress Administration aid during the Great Depression.

The new project would provide facilities to complement the Upper Peninsula Veterans Memorial near the base of the scaffold, Fox said.

Although the club has more than $200,000 in donations in hand, much more is needed to see the project through, she said. Fundraising has slowed in recent months, likely because potential donors believed any state money would be sufficient.

“All those pledges are still necessary,” Fox said, noting the budget calls for nearly $800,000 in sponsorships and gifts that remain unfilled.

Commissioners asked a few questions about security for the new structures and Bujold said cameras could be incorporated into a planned rebuild of the electronic infrastructure. He also noted the landing hill and its fencing are up to FIS standards, following about $100,000 in improvements in recent years.