(KAIR)--Disappointed and confused.

That's how the City of Atchison's Director of Public Works describes the rejection of a grant application for the construction of a planned Jackson Park Accessible Playground Project.

In an email this week, Justin Pregont says the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks, and Tourism notified the City of Atchison that the grant application was turned down through a letter of non-approval.

Pregont says the confusion arises from the low number of applicants that were successful in their requests, saying in a memo to Interim City Manager Becky Berger nine applications were received by the state agency, and only two were selected for funding. Pregont says city staff is “working to develop a better understanding of how only two applications could have been funded given the program's traditional levels of available funding.”

The City submitted the application for $55,000 in grant funding to the Land and Water Conservation Fund program in March.

The park project, is estimated to cost $110,000, and Pregont says options for moving forward must now be explored.

He writes in the memo that a possible second call for projects could happen later this year, and, if so, the city's application will be re-submitted.

If a second opportunity does not materialize, Pregont says three options should be considered, including tabling the project until another grant opportunity becomes available; unilaterally fund the project for construction in the spring and summer of 2018; or modify the scope of the project to offset the lack of contributing grant funds.

No immediate action on the part of the City Commission is necessary, with Pregont stating that the situation will continue to be evaluated.