The Town of Montgomery’s December 12 board meeting marked a bittersweet day for the community, as it was the last, official meeting of Supervisor Ronald Feller and Councilwoman Kristen Brown
Before the board got through its agenda, several residents and officials stepped up and spoke about Feller and Brown’s key traits, previous accomplishments, and contributions to the town.

Brian Maher, New York State Assemblyman of the 101st Assembly District, recognized Brown’s endeavors as a councilwoman and assured her that she would receive a citation at a later date.

“You were somebody who truly challenged us in a very positive way, made our arguments better, and made our end product better by being here,” he said. “So thank you for your service to the town, and I look forward to presenting your citation on a different day.”

Maher then commemorated Feller’s leadership as town supervisor, his service as a Vietnam veteran, and his involvement in the community for over three decades.

“During his 34 years in the Town of Montgomery, Ron has donated his time to a variety of causes, including serving 29 years with Con Edison of New York, managing the Montgomery Little League, coaching for CYO Basketball, having membership with VFW Post 8691, and the Knight of Columbus Council’s 2270 and 5890, serving as town recreation director and councilman, and even founding the Corinne Feller Scholarship in memory of his late daughter,” Maher listed.

“Whereas following three years of service as deputy town supervisor, Ron honorably served a year-long term as town supervisor in the Town of Montgomery,” he continued. “And whereas Ron’s dedication to creating a successful supportive community has led the Town of Montgomery above and beyond its expectations.”

Following his speech, Maher gave Feller a citation and a big hug.
Sylvie Rainaldi, a resident and trustee of Montgomery’s ambulance corps, thanked Feller for serving as a leader and mentor to the town’s residents, employees, and Little League players.

“Supervisor Feller, thank you for your leadership and your service to our community, for thinking about our future, and for doing the work that needs to be done today,” she said. “Thank you for providing mentorship and counsel to young professionals who want to make a positive difference in their community without prejudice or fear of big ideas.”

Rainaldi thanked and complemented Brown for her dedication to the town’s first responders and helping the ambulance corps.

“When Kristen says she supports first responders, it means that she’s proactively picking up the phone and talking to us, learning about our problems, understanding our challenges, providing advice, and advocating for resources,” she said. “It means that Kristen puts in the time and the energy to make a real difference, and the Town of Montgomery ambulance would not have come so far in our journey without your support.”

Dionne Boissard, co-chair of SPOMA, the committee that maintains the town’s historic African-American cemetery on Route 416, thanked both Feller and Brown for their continued support of the cemetery.

“We would like to extend a special thank you to you, Ron, for continuing to honor the work, for showing up at our town events, our reflame ceremony, our Juneteenth Day celebration, and for being a physical presence in all of our endeavors,” Boissard said.

Near the end of the meeting, Town Attorney William Frank reflected on his time working with Feller and Brown, highlighting Brown’s diligence and Feller’s management.

“I represent a lot of municipalities and I know who’s doing the hard work. We didn’t always agree on issues and approaches to things, but Kristen always did the work,” Frank said about Brown.

“As for you, Mister Supervisor, you always had your hand on the switch. You looked at everything we had to do, every number we had to crunch. You were the one who did it,” he continued, now directed to Feller. “It was easy to work with you because you always knew what you were doing, even when you first took over because you would serve as deputy supervisor.”