First, the boat launch ramp at Bush Point was due for completion by Memorial Day. Then port officials hoped work would be done by July 4.

Now the state Department of Fish and Wildlife has tentatively targeted Labor Day — the weekend of Sept. 2 — for the grand opening of the new facility that has taken eight years to complete.

But if you’re a boat owner, don’t hold your breath, warns Port of South Whidbey manager Ed Field.

“Electrical service to the bathrooms and power to the septic system isn’t ready yet,” he said. “The contractors are coming out next Monday to finish the work. As to when the floats will be installed, we don’t know and I don’t want to predict.”

“We will do our best to accommodate users that weekend, but we aren’t in control of the project,” Field added.

It hasn’t helped that Kristen Kuykendall, the Department of Fish and Wildlife’s engineer for the project, has been away on maternity leave for several months, forcing assistant engineer Howard Brenner to step in and oversee completion.

Nor did it make life easier earlier this summer when it was discovered that several concrete pilings were installed off the center line. They have since been repaired but the floats — essential for boat launching and recovery — are still not in place.

Back in January, Kuykendall told port commissioners that the bid for Phase II — consisting of the on-site restroom, painting, fencing, parking lot paving, landscaping and a septic system — came in way over budget. Noting that her department and the state Interagency Committee for Outdoor Recreation has spent $1.7 million on land purchase, design and construction, Kuykendall asked the port to chip in $115,000 to make up the difference.

Eventually, the port reluctantly approved the expenditure.

The port began working on the Bush Point project in 1998, after boaters and fishermen asked for water access on the island’s west side.

A variety of delays over the years — a septic versus sewer connection problem, discovery of an offshore surf smelt habitat, tidal concerns, handicap-access needs — slowed the progress on the project.

Under the terms of a 25-year interlocal agreement, the Department of Fish and Wildlife are responsible to fund and build the ramp and the port will manage and maintain it. But it’s been a long wait for those who are anxious to see the ramp completed.

Bob Smythe of Clinton owns an 18-foot skiff on a trailer.

“I just want to get my boat in the water and go fishing with my kids,” Smythe said.

“I understand it isn’t the port’s fault, but this whole thing isn’t a good example of government in action, in my humble opinion,” he said.

Jeff VanDerford can be reached at 221-5300 or jvanderford@southwhidbeyrecord.com.