SHEPHERD — William “Billy” Lacoste, a first-term alderman on the Shepherd City Council, said that after discussions with some residents over the direction the city is taking, he felt that it was time for a change in the city’s direction.
“There are a few people that don't agree with him on some things, like the infrastructure,” Lacoste said. “We’ve got businesses coming to town, and we’re not ready for that. Charles Minton started it and I just want to try to finish it if we can.
“Infrastructure is but one of the things that I want to bring,” he said. “I want to try to get a road around the railroad track cause … emergency vehicles and others can’t get around if the train is stuck there.”
Lacost said he didn't have to run against the incumbent, but one reason is to just to give voters a choice.
“I put that on my signs: ‘Time for change.’” he said. “(Charles) has been there eight years. I've been trying to change things up a little bit. Plus, people know me, I know who to call to get things done, and most people see me since I’m in Shepherd all the time. I treat people fairly.”
While infrastructure is an important issue, another is what else needs to be done to spur growth, such as developing housing. Ultimately, though, it’s about helping people, he said.
“I help as many people as I can, all the time,” he said. “You know, somebody broke down? I stop and help. We have the Impact Center that we donate to all the time. As part of the council, he voted to have a building put up at the church to help with passing out food truck items, so they wouldn’t be out in the sun and rain.”
Lacoste said that business sense is what he has and is what he plans on using — that and his experience of being on the council; serving on the council was to gain experience so he wouldn’t just jump in and run against the mayor.
Lacoste has lived in Shepherd his whole life — 57 years — with the exception of one year when he moved away. He is a 1988 graduate of Shepherd High School. He currently owns Texas Grill restaurants in both Shepherd and Coldspring.
“I’m one of those people who will always listen and will always try to make it happen,” he said. “If it’s something the city can do, we’ll do it. As a restaurant owner, I talk with people all the time, and I feel that I’ve been representing the city already.”
SHEPHERD — After serving a term as a Shepherd City Council member, the former mayor approached Charles Minton and asked him to take over.
“I was a council member and Mayor Pro Tem,” Minton said. “Earl Brown decided to run for county judge, and in Texas, you can't run for two offices at the same time. So, he was going to give up his mayor seat and. Another council member said, ‘We got some good things going, and you're involved, you ask questions, you do your research, you do things like that. You should run for mayor.’”
He first took office in 2018, a development his son thought was amusing.
“When my kid was in middle school and I first became mayor, he got into the habit of going, ‘Hey Mayor.’” Minton said. “Every day I drop him off at school and he's like, ‘Alright, see you later. Have a good day, Mayor.’ Have a good day, Mayor. Mayor. Mayor. At home, it's like, ‘I got my homework done, Mayor,’ ‘Mayor, can I do this?’”
Minton came to a compromise and asked to be called MOSTUS — Mayor of Shepherd Texas U.S. — a play on POTUS, and that has stuck.
Now running for a fifth term, Minton is looking to continue making strides in the city’s infrastructure, ordinances and services.
“Growth is coming. Growth is Coming has always been the mantra around here,” he said. “So, back then, I talked to my wife about it and we agreed that since we live here in Shepherd, we pay taxes here, we got three boys in school, let's try to make Shepherd a little bit better.”
Minton describes the mayoral position as one of many hats.
“You're kind of like the CEO of the city, and at the same time, you're kind of like a head coach of a football team,” he said. “You have to kind of understand the team you're working with, the condition of everything and try to lay out a strategy to make things work.”
During his tenure, Minton said the city really began working on infrastructure.
“We just completed a sewer project where a lot of our sewer lines were completely redone,” he said. “We have a grant where we're going to put in another well into the city. We have another grant where we're going to put a water storage tank on one of our wells. And we just got approved for a $5 million grant where we're basically going to double the capacity of the sewer plant.”
Minton also said they got a Police Department up and running about 3 years ago and has created a great staff — a fantastic city secretary, a fantastic public works director, a fantastic library director and a chief of police, all of which have that commitment to make Shepherd better.
All of that would be for nothing if the city was not fiscally responsible.
“We live in the city and I'm a taxpayer and I want to make sure that every dollar that we spend is spent correctly,” he said. “I don't want my property taxes raised either. We balanced our budget and we use our money wisely. And we do the best we can with the resources we got.”
Minton pointed out that since he has been mayor, an O'Reilly's and Tractor Supply has moved into town, which has helped increase sales tax revenue.
Looking to the future, Minton said they need to get code enforcement up and running to help clean up dilapidated properties and make Shepherd more economically viable for a business or a family to move here.
That, and remaining fiscally responsible.
“I want to continue to lead Shepherd forward,” he said. “I want to continue to grow our Police Department, and answer the challenge of how to get the Police Department operating 24/7.”
