Shepherdsville's newly-elected mayor focused on improving infrastructure, development

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Shepherdsville's newly-elected mayor is ready to implement his ideas to continue growth and development in Bullitt County's seat as soon as he takes office in January.

Mayor-elect Jose Cubero is a longtime businessman and 15-year resident of Shepherdsville. Cubero will replace outgoing Mayor Curtis Hockenbury. His hope is to attract and retain the people in the city.

"When you look at progress, there is a lot to say about the things that have happened out here, but you've got to make sure you keep a residential focus or you're going to lose that and this becomes a truck stop," Cubero said, hinting at the multitude of chain restaurants and gas stations situated just off of Interstate 65.

Families in Shepherdsville shouldn't have to leave for entertainment and activity, the mayor-elect believes.

"They live here, and some of them work here, but they're doing everything outside of the city," Cubero said. "Whether they go to a full service restaurant, go to a bowling alley, if they're going to a craft store that's all happening in other cities. That revenue dollar is not in our city."

Cubero has suggested ideas of more full service restaurants and businesses with family friendly activities. He also wants to incentivize small businesses to locate in Shepherdsville.

The goal is to create more revenue from those developments, leading to financial backing for infrastructure projects. Improving roads and sidewalks is another priority for the mayor-elect.

"I'm a businessman, and I think we can run a lot of things in a business plan to develop the city in a way that it needs to grow," Cubero said.

Change has already begun for Cubero before taking over office. Cubero informed Shepherdsville Police Chief Rick McCubbin that he would be appointing a new chief of police.

McCubbin is stepping down at the end of the year. Cubero plans to appoint former Jeffersontown Assistant Chief of Police Steve Schmidt as Shepherdsville's top law enforcer.

Cubero, who said he has the utmost respect and admiration for McCubbin and his decades of law enforcement service, said he wanted a hands-on chief of police.

"I really wanted to keep it simple," said Cubero. "I wanted to keep us out on the streets, making sure we're involved in the community and look at some different ways to go."

The changes happening in Shepherdsville are crucial, Cubero said, for a community with an abundance of opportunity.

"We're not just managing 14,200 people in Shepherdsville," he mentioned. "We're managing half-a-million cars on I-65. We have the complexity of both of those."

Cubero will be sworn in on Dec. 19 and will take office in January.