If you’re like those of us who were planning to graduate in May and wound up here for another year, you were probably disappointed to hear that setbacks in construction on Ames’ Furman Aquatic Center were pushing the open date past its original May 15 goal to July 1, Aug. 3, Sept. 1 and, finally, next year.

When the city kicked off the project two years ago, a lot of students were left thinking, “Sounds great — but I won’t be in Ames when it’s finished.”

Such is the life of the transient college-folk.

But when contractors missed their self-appointed deadlines, many in town were left frustrated and confused.

Open a pool for a two months? One month? A couple of weeks? Just one week? What sense does that make?

And then many argue that condemning the aquatic center to sit, nearly completed, through an entire, harsh Iowa winter without ever having been used, doesn’t make much sense either.

We aren’t knowledgeable enough to say how much winter weather will affect the new construct.

But in the interest of peace of mind, as we reflect on the project left incomplete on 13th Street, we offer a summary of the project’s main events.

Sande Construction & Supply Co., Inc., of Humboldt, won the bid for the project in spring 2008 at a price tag of just under $8.825 million.

Records obtained from the City Clerk’s office show the project will cost Ames residents nearly $130,000 more than Sande’s bid — 0.01 percent of the $10.5 million the city originally budgeted for the project.

The change accounts for improvements city staff opted for in the midst of the project, which ranged in price from El Dorado colored mortar, at $330, to decorative fencing and “data box(es)” that will help admission lines move quicker during peak hours, at around $20,000 each.

The change orders, as they’re called, also account for human error, something Nancy Carroll, Parks and Recreation Director for the City of Ames, says is inevitable with any project; particularly one of this size.

The difference is still a significant bargain, given the next closest bid, submitted by Rochon Corp., of Urbandale, which came in at $9.197 million — $244,216.40 higher than Sande’s.

Carroll reported to the City Council on July 28 that weather and the issues that had come up would set back the completion date to the end of August, which left city staff with what City Manager Steve Schainker reported, would be three options:

The center would open for Labor Day weekend only, admission fees would be collected and the city would net $5,800

The center would open for Labor Day weekend only, non-residents only would pay for admission and the city would lose $1,400, or

The center would open for Sept. 13, 19 and 20 only, non-residents only would pay for admission and the city would lose $10,400

The options, however, relied entirely on perfect weather and zero mistakes, which, given the summer’s track record and project’s size, were extremely unlikely.

And then, when city staff discovered that a bad batch of concrete mix had been used on part of the pool deck, a mistake Sande immediately agreed to rectify free of charge, its fate was sealed, and the project was doomed to sit, unused, for the remainder of the year.

As construction crews continue to finish odds and ends, working their way out of the site — you may notice the parking lot has yet to be laid with asphalt — officials expect the center to open for summer 2010.

Perhaps a disappointment to some, but wise thinking on the part of city planners, and a legacy that Ames residents and ISU students will enjoy and be proud of for many years to come.

So, if you’re planning to stick around next summer, whether to work and earn money for fall tuition — Lord knows we’ll need it — or to study and blast your way through some gen. ed.’s, know that this will be the year that you’ll finally, get a taste for the city’s newest attraction.