(Daily News file photo)

IRON MOUNTAIN — Superior Steel Systems Inc. of Iron Mountain was selected Monday to build a steel-framed storage building at Ford Airport after submitting the low bid of $489,900.

The 100-by-60-foot building will be erected north of the Fontana Terminal building to house airport equipment and supplies. The county remains responsible for electrical, plumbing and heating provisions, as there will also be restrooms, Controller Brian Bousley said.

The only other bid was $541,831 from MBM Construction of Kingsford. The Dickinson County Board accepted Superior’s offer on a 4-1 vote, with Commissioner Barbara Kramer dissenting.

The county will soon begin talks with Rob Barkle, company president, on contract adjustments for Superior’s construction of a $1.7 million hangar that has run behind schedule. Upon completion, the hangar will be leased to a company that will base a private jet at Ford Airport.

“I don’t have a lot of confidence in Mr. Barkle,” Kramer said.

No completion deadline was set for the storage building, which will be overseen by the county’s construction department. Funding will come from a variety of sources, including the Passenger Facility Charge Program and possible borrowing from the airport’s Fontana Trust. The bids, Bousley noted, were higher than anticipated.

In the future, the county will pursue federal funding for a companion building to house the airport’s aircraft rescue firefighting vehicle, he said.

Also discussed during the county board’s special meeting Monday was the status of a hydraulic door for the $1.7 million private jet hangar Superior has nearly finished at the airport’s south end. There are concerns whether the support steel was engineered correctly and the county is seeking assurances it won’t be stuck with the cost of replacing the $250,000 door should it fail.