Lake Sarah board seeks up to $25,000 from tourism funds for beach expansion; committee asks for application

Christo Schultz, a member of the Lake Sarah Forever Board, requested county help to close a roughly $25,000 gap on a $125,000 beach expansion project that would quadruple the size of the lake’s beach and increase public capacity.

Schultz said Lake Sarah volunteers and residents have already raised “just north of $800,000” for park improvements including pickleball courts, playgrounds and ADA access; the most recent beach‑expansion phase costs about $125,000, and the board has about $100,000 committed. “We’re about $25,000 short on our goal,” Schultz said, and asked the committee to consider a contribution from tourism (hotel/motel) funds or other county sources.

Committee members said the project fits the tourism-funding criteria in principle but asked Schultz to complete the formal application so staff can evaluate estimated visitor impact and return the item to the next agenda. A committee member noted the county had recently transitioned its hotel/motel funding application process online and that the committee can consider one-time awards. The committee did not commit a specific dollar amount at the meeting; members encouraged the petitioner to provide supporting documentation and estimated visitation numbers for staff review.

Schultz cited outreach to local business owners who estimate several hundred out-of-county visitors use the beach and nearby facilities on summer weekends.

The petitioner agreed to submit the tourism-funding application and to attend the next full board meeting so the request can be considered with documentation and estimated impact numbers.