Gary/Chicago International Airport was poised to land another business jet hangar Thursday, with development company Coster LLC set to start construction on a 12,000-square-foot facility for its own jet and up to three others.

"It's very convenient here," Coster LLC President Raymond Lewick said of the airport. "It's a hidden secret."

The airport authority board on Thursday approved by a 4-0 vote a 39-year lease agreement with Coster, which will require the company to pay a base rent of $4,949 per year, according to Airport Director Chris Curry.

The authority board passed the lease with the stipulation some last-minute insurance concerns be worked out, which caused some frustration for Lewick, as he already had trucks loaded with steel beams for the project parked along Industrial Highway.

The airport authority board also dealt with a contentious bid letting on a perimeter fence project Friday by voting to put the project out for bid once more in the hope of staying within budget constraints. The airport has an engineer's estimate of $1,397,120 for the project, according to Curry.

It will be paid for with funds from the Obama Administration's stimulus plan.

Fence Masters, of Chicago Heights, which ended up being the low bidder on the project after another bidder was disqualified, protested the fact the airport authority was not accepting their bid. They were joined in their protest by Ironworkers Local 395 Business Agent Bill Sopko.

"The opportunity was here today to let a local guy with local labor get to work here," Fence Masters estimator Pete Biancardi told the authority board.

Sopko added that many of his local's members are from Gary and many are currently out of work because of the recession.

Authority Board members were at pains to say they support local companies, but that they also had fiscal realities they have to deal with.

"There is only a finite amount of money, and if the board surpasses that we are not coming up with additional money," said authority board member Harold Foster.

The Airport Authority also voted Friday to contribute $224,866 toward development of a business and strategic plan for the airport, with a matching amount to come from the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority.

The RDA had earlier voted to pay the entire cost of the study if need be, because it was not clear if the airport could use money from an escrow account to pay for the study. Airport Attorney Patrick Lyp said that had been cleared up and the airport was able to use some of the money set aside for the account.