Over the past several years, officials with Evans City and EDCO Park have worked to renovate the park’s pool.

Understanding the financial limitations of both entities, officials sought grant funding for the project. Grants totaling more than $661,000 were awarded, including Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and Community Development Block Grants. The community helped match a $300,000 DCNR grant along the way, showing there was support for the project to take place.

That support was on full display earlier this summer when the community gathered to unveil the first phase of the project. A second phase will continue with additional amenities, and things seemed to be well on their way to completion.

That’s what made a September announcement that a match stipulation for a $31,250 DCNR grant had not been met so surprising. Nobody, it seemed, was aware that the grant match had not been met.

Through a Pennsylvania Right to Know request, The Eagle found that an initial letter informing officials of the match was sent in February. Although the grant was approved by county officials in March, no response was received from borough officials.

A follow-up letter was sent in April, with those involved telling the Eagle they do not remember receiving either correspondence.

That led to September’s discussion, during which officials acknowledged they knew the grant needed to be matched. However, many expressed confusion over who exactly would be covering that match: the borough, the EDCO Park Foundation or the county.

The borough and county found a solution, with the park foundation paying back the balance to the borough. Officials should be commended for coming up with a quick solution to a potentially large problem.

It is understandable that a project this large has many moving parts. Throw in the sheer number of grants secured — an impressive feat, to be sure — and it is easy for something to slip through the cracks.

Because of that possibility, borough and park officials should designate who will keep track of important details related to the pool project moving forward.

As pool manager Cindy Caldwell told The Eagle, “it was just a big lack of communication” in which the parties assumed someone else would be handling the business at hand.

The project has been a great improvement for a community that has shown it appreciates the effort. We’d hate to see that goodwill and community involvement wane because of a lack of communication.