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After nine years on board, Lamb will focus on other things
Nevada Daily Mail
Jerod Lamb has worn many hats, serving in different ways, since moving to Sheldon after spending time living in Nevada and Lamar. But after the upcoming April election, he will remove one of those hats and turn his focus elsewhere.
For more than a decade, Lamb has been in office at the city of Sheldon, as an alderman, president of the board and most recently as mayor. He is also president of the Sheldon board of education, senior pastor of Sheldon Baptist Church, president of the ministerial alliance and has also worked for a construction company for more than a decade.
But about a year ago, Lamb decided he felt God was telling him his time serving the city of Sheldon in office was nearing its end.
On the desk of his office in city hall rests a piece of marble that Lamb's father had cut himself during his life of hard work. His father before him had been an immigrant from Germany. Lamb says the marble reminds him of the heritage of hard workers from before him, both in his own family and the city of Sheldon.
Lamb first ran for office in the years following his family's move to Sheldon in 1995, saying he believed God wanted him to serve the city in that way, but lost that first election. He was elected to the board in the following election and has served the city ever since.
"I give the glory to God today that I've served in office for that reason," Lamb said of his calling to help lead the city.
While trying to help the city, Lamb said he received much assistance and advice from others as well, including previous mayors and mayors from other towns.
With their help, as well as from council members and other city employees, Lamb said he has seen great improvements come to the city over the last year as they added a full-time clerk and maintenance persons, part-time recycling and trash employees, and part-time fire chief, as well as new city vehicles and equipment.
Some of the improvements closest to Lamb's heart were those made to the city park, which included playground equipment donated by Lamb's family in honor of their eight-year-old daughter, Hannah, who died in a vehicle accident March 9, 2013.
The playground can be seen from Lamb's home and he said it brings them joy and closure seeing the children play on the equipment.
"When I first moved here, there wasn't a lot of that stuff," Lamb said of the many changes. "Now everybody is involved, and that's important."
Lamb says many of those improvements were because of newly formed committees such as the vision committee, community betterment board and park boards, as well as long-range goals set by the residents involved in the groups. City clerk Becky Morgan and grants director Phyllis Sprenkle also played a key role in making things happen in the city, Lamb said.
Other improvements Lamb says he hopes to see in the future include more green space, walking trails, sidewalks and building improvements.
"There's a lot of good things that people don't really know about Sheldon," Lamb said. "I just want people to know that this is a great place to be from. I think it's growing, but it's growing from the inside out."
But before some of those changes and others could be made, Lamb said they first had to find ways to balance the city's budget, even when it meant the mayor and council members sacrificed their stipends to do so.
"The budget was tight," Lamb said. "Of course it's mandated we come out in the black every year, but there wasn't a lot of head room."
But after a decade, the city now has a surplus of tens of thousands of dollars, even with the $250,000 operating budget each year, Lamb says. In the near future, he says he expects that to possibly even reach six figures.
"That's taken a lot of hard work from all the council members I've served with over the years," Lamb said.
When he decided not to run again, Lamb said several residents asked him why. He assures it was not due to anything other than God's directing him to turn his focus elsewhere, such as towards his family, church and the school as he continues to serve the city in other ways.
"I just want to make sure that, going forward, I'm leaving because the Lord told me to, one, and two I hope that whoever retains this office, whoever moves on to council, will continue with the positive gains that have been made over the last decade here," Lamb says.
While he does not know what is in store for him in the future, Lamb says he looks forward to spending more time with this wife and six children as they continue farming and also pursue the possibility of opening a business in Sheldon.