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The Natchez Mayor and Board of Aldermen moved forward with their side of a financial arrangement to heat and cover the community pool on Liberty Road and add the grand addition a concrete deck extension, lockers, showers and permanent bleachers for use at swim meets.

Just as the swimming pool was a welcome addition to the Adams County community in June 2018, seeing the project finally complete also would be.

Last year, the project was postponed temporarily while city officials still faced uncertainties about the financial effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now, as the books are finally being updated thanks to the hard work of Natchez City Clerk Servia Fortenberry in conjunction with the city’s CPA Wallace Collins, it’s time to move forward while there is still a chance to receive funding for the project.

Otherwise, the city risks missing out on more than $170,000 from a Mississippi Department of Wildlife and Fisheries grant to help fund $345,000 worth of improvements to the pool.

To split the match requirement between the city and the county would cost them approximately $85,000 each.

While it’s true that many parks throughout the city and the county are in dire condition, doing nothing is not an option.

As Natchez Mayor Dan Gibson has said, there are opportunities to fund other projects through a bond issue in the near future.

City officials are right not to miss out on the funds that are already available and the Adams County Board of Supervisors would be wise to follow suit and support their half of the matching funds.