For the Gazette

ONTONAGON – The Mountain Lions Club and the Greenland Township Planning Commission have applied for a $45,000 Michigan Department of Natural Resources Recreation Passport Grant for improvements to the Ontonagon County Fairgrounds and recreational opportunities at the Adventure Mountain complex.

One of the improvements would be to rebuild the Adventure Mountain Ski Hill rope tow, which has been out of operation for two decades. The club had kept a portion of the ski hill cleared for skiers, snowboarders and children riding sleds to walk back up the hill or grab a ride from a snowmobile.

The grant application includes a partnership with the Ontonagon County Fair Board to build horse stables near the horse arena. The board has hosted horse events throughout the spring, summer and fall, along with horsemanship training and equine health classes.

The application also includes providing accessibility to the physically challenged.

The Mountain Lions have been operating a skating rink on natural ice for many years. The club has also co-sponsored Mid America Snow and Terrain Expert Racing (MASTERS) circuit events the past two winters. The club held an ORV (off-road vehicle) Mud Drag during the Ontonagon County Fair this summer and will host another one Saturday.

“Anything that we’ve already done is not eligible to be used as matching funds for the grant. However, many people and businesses have pledged to donate labor and materials for the rope tow, horse stables and accessibility improvements at the Adventure Mountain complex,” said Dean Juntunen, a club officer.

Pat’s Motorsports of Greenland has contributed donation to the club for this project in an effort to secure approval on the DNR grant. The club hopes to hear a decision on the grant this fall.

“If our application is successful, construction on the rope tow and stables will happen next summer,” Juntunen said.

This Saturday’s ORV Mud Drag raises funds for the club’s projects, events and donations to local and national charities.

“The spectators loved the first Mud Challenge,” Juntunen said.

The Side by Side/ATV Mud Drags begins at 1 p.m. behind the horse arena at the Ontonagon County Fairgrounds.

The Mountain Lions have a 30-year lease with Greenland Township. This agreement to provide recreational opportunities at the Adventure Mountain complex was renewed in 2015.

The Ontonagon County Fair Board has a sublease with the Mountain Lions for the Fairgrounds.

Until this summer, the Mountain Lions ran stock car races at Adventure Mountain Speedway.

For financial reasons the club did not run races this summer. Juntunen said the club is not looking at bringing races back to the third-mile dirt track; however, he did not rule out the chance of re-opening the race track.