HERMISTON – June 30 is the drop-dead date for the Hermiston Family Aquatic Center.

That’s when Oregon’s lone pool inspector will visit the long-awaited $2.9-million outdoor facility.

If the pool isn’t ready for the inspector’s visit, “it’s going to get ugly,” Hermiston Parks and Recreation Director Ivan Anderholm said.

Once the city receives the pool inspector’s stamp of approval and the city building occupancy approval, theoretically it could open the next day, Anderholm said.

But that’s only if all the pool pumps work, the signage is up and the chemicals in the pool are balanced, he noted.

The city moved the pool’s opening to June after heavy snow in January slowed construction. More construction speed bumps slowed the process further.

By contract, Apollo Inc. of Kennewick had to have the aquatic center substantially completed by June 2 or face penalties of up to $1,300 a day.

The city still needs to pay Apollo the last $900,000 for the project, Anderholm said. The city will subtract the penalties from that bill, he added.

Those penalties will help pay the lifeguard staff, that by contract, was set to begin work June 2. Because the facility isn’t open, lifeguards and other staff are helping unpack furnishings for the aquatic center and are working at the Hermiston Sprayground at Butte Park, he said.

“When you get to the end of a project like this, sometimes corners start to get cut,” Anderholm said. “I’ve given specific instructions to Apollo and its subcontractors that we understand they’re being penalized, but we don’t want something substandard. We want the same product that we contracted to have at the beginning of the project at the end.”

The pools are expected to be filled with water by the end of the week. Most of the concrete work is done, city landscaping crews are installing a sprinkler system now and the parking lot should be paved by next week, he said.

The city decided in December to raise its general operating levy and use part of its hotel room tax to build and operate the aquatic center.

The aquatic center will be the second largest of its kind for Oregon cities with populations between 10,000 and 20,000 people. The Pendleton Family Aquatic Center ranks first.

The facility encompasses three acres and includes a six-lane 50-meter pool with a diving well, a 7,000-square-foot multi-use pool with a slide, a 180-foot current channel, zero-depth entry and 10 interactive water toys and a 500-square-foot tot pool with an interactive slide and shade structure for children 3 years and younger.

All together, the pools have a capacity of 1,000 people.

The center also will include men’s and women’s changing rooms, two family changing rooms, a lobby, offices and concession facilities that will be accessible both inside and outside the aquatic center.