After an evening of split decisions, Tyler Stewart was appointed to fill the Place 2 vacancy on the Providence Village Town Council.
Five candidates applied for Place 2 to finish out former council member Stephen Benton’s term: Jordan Woodard, Tyler McDonald, David Vartian, Dustin Clay and Stewart.
“This is without a doubt the hardest decision I've ever had on the council,” council member Klayton Rutherford said.
Since Benton was formally removed from the dais last month, Town Manager Brian Roberson explained that the council has 30 days to appoint someone to fill the vacancy and complete his term, which ends in May 2027.
Council member Elise Jumbelick made the first motion to reappoint Clay.
“I've seen support for Dustin online and with people that I talk to, and to me it only makes sense to bring someone back on who is already versed in the things that are going on with the council,” Jumbelick said.
Council member Jason Lucas agreed and shared a similar sentiment about listening to voters' wishes to bring him back.
However, other council members expressed their hesitancy with Clay’s commitment to finish out Benton's term on the council.
“I don't think anybody questions Dustin's commitment to the community,” Rutherford said. “He has shown that he's committed to the community. What I'm not confident on … is if we appointed him today and somebody stepped down from Aubrey ISD tomorrow, would Dustin be looking at that position? And I think he would. And that gives me pause.”
Fellow council member Jeff Doramus shared a similar sentiment, expressing a desire to appoint someone who was fully committed.
With three in favor and three opposed, the motion failed.
Rutherford moved to appoint McDonald.
Mayor Linda Inman expressed her hesitancy in appointing him.
“I don't have a comfortable ... feeling because I don't know him,” Inman said. “... I would hope that he would serve on a committee first.”
The motion failed again in another 3-3 split vote.
Jumbelick motioned to appoint Clay for a second time; with two in favor and four opposed, the motion failed.
Rutherford made the final motion to appoint Stewart; the motion passed in a 4-2 vote.
“He asks thoughtful questions at EDC,” Rutherford said. “He's very intelligent. He's shown that in the way he approaches his position there. And I think he'd do a good job here, too.”
Stewart took his oath of office to join the council on the dais.
The council then voted to approve the 2026-27 annual Service and Assessment Plan update for the Foree Ranch Public Improvement District.
Joshua Arendt with MuniCap discussed Improvement Area 1, which has about 455 lots, and Improvement Area 2 has about 735 lots.
“If, by off chance, costs were to increase in this table, that would not result in any increase in assessment,” Arendt said. “That is set, and the developer would have to bear the responsibility of any additional costs.”
The proposed annual budget for Improvement Area 1 is $527,844, about $15,000 less than last year’s approved budget.
Improvement Area 2’s proposed budget is $968,014, about $9,000 less than last year’s.
Arendt shared that the annual installment that appears on a resident’s Denton County Property tax statement for Improvement Area 1 ranges from $27 to $36 less than last year, depending on the lot type.
For Improvement Area 2, it ranges from about $12 to $15 less than last year.
He added that property owners have three options to repay the assessment.
The most common method “is to pay it off annually as part of their property tax statement,” Arendt said.
During the public hearing, resident Ashley Wright reported an incident that happened in her neighborhood.
“We had multiple residents call into the police after a report came across the Facebook group chat,” Wright said. “There was a report that someone was sitting by the pond and shooting birds.”
She added that similar, yet unrelated incidents have occurred at the pond with geese being shot with bows and arrows.
“We did find out that [Providence Village] does not have an ordinance against pellet guns or any type of discharge of firearms within city limits,” Wright said, and requested that council consider adding one.
Council did agree to look into it by creating an ordinance similar to the city of Aubrey's.
