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Forney council approves alcohol variance, downtown sidewalk grant; names Helm mayor pro tem
Summary
At its May 20 meeting the Forney City Council unanimously adopted an ordinance allowing on-premise alcohol sales at 212 S. Bodark Street, approved a corrected sidewalk grant and match, appointed Councilmember Helm as mayor pro tem, approved minutes and consent items, and postponed one staff item to a future meeting.
The Forney City Council voted on several routine and land-use matters during its May 20, 2025, meeting, approving an alcohol-spacing variance for a downtown restaurant, accepting corrected grant funding for downtown sidewalk improvements, appointing a mayor pro tem and completing its consent agenda.
Why this matters: the ordinance and grant affect downtown development and sidewalks; the variance allows on-premise consumption at a restaurant within 300 feet of school property only after council approval under local ordinance and Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission rules.
The council approved an ordinance (assigned Ordinance No. 2508) granting a variance from the City of Forney—s 300-foot spacing requirement that otherwise prevents sale of alcoholic beverages for on-premise consumption within 300 feet of a school, church, childcare center or hospital. The request concerned property at 212 South Bodark Street, the Stashes Table and Fable Restaurant. Planning staff said two public responses were received in favor and that the Planning and Zoning Commission provided no recommendation. The motion to adopt the ordinance was made by Councilmember Schlitzker and seconded by Councilmember Helm; the ordinance passed on a show-of-hands vote.
Mr. Casey, presenting a consent-item correction, told council the grant figures had been updated: "The corrected grant number that we're proposing is $1,120,909.84 with a city match of $443,150.4 and it should be noted that that is a eightytwenty split of the construction dollars with the City also assuming the cost of the design fees," he said. Council approved the resolution accepting the grant funding for engineering and downtown sidewalk improvements; the motion passed unanimously by voice or show of hands.
The council approved the minutes of the May 13, 2025 special meeting on a motion by Councilmember Helm, seconded by Councilmember Schlitzker. It then approved the consent agenda (items 1 and 3—12) by motion of Helm, second from Schlitzker; the motion passed unanimously. Staff asked that one discussion item (action item 1) be postponed to a future meeting because it was not ready for presentation; the council agreed to postpone without naming a new meeting date.
Councilmember Cecil Chambers was issued elected-officer documents and sworn in as the council member for Place 2. Mayor Jason Robertson read the certificate of election and administered the oath of office; Chambers briefly thanked supporters and posed for photographs.
Council member nominations resulted in Councilmember Helm being named mayor pro tem for a one-year term. Councilmember Chambers nominated Helm, the nomination received seconds, and the council approved the appointment by show of hands.
Ending: The city manager reported on upcoming franchise relocations tied to TxDOT—s FM 548 expansion, the start of a two-year construction project for an Encore switch site on Trinity Street and a June 14 free paper-shredding event at Forney Community Park. Council adjourned at 7:29 p.m.
