Montgomery Council Honors the Memory of Tom Czulewicz; Vote to Consider Action on Community Center, new Municipal Building

Following the Montgomery City Council Workshop Meeting of January 8th, council held its first regular meeting of 2026 on January 13th. Mayor Sara Countryman read several proclamations, while issues stemming from the December 9th council meeting and the recent workshop were voted on by the city council regarding two notable consent agenda items, issues that will affect Montgomery for the foreseeable future. The council as well as the Economic Development Corporation and the Planning and Zoning Commission have been appreciative of the citizen representation at the meetings, most notably in reference to the saving of the Community Center, which some mistakenly believed was going to be razed to the ground immediately.

The public forum featured a trio of speakers, all in reference to Montgomery’s Community Center. Local historian Robin Montgomery, from Richards, and Shelly Lane, from Dobbin, spoke on behalf of the effort to save the community center; while Lindsey Snead, spoke on a disagreement with her rental agreement of the community center with the city. Mr. Montgomery recalled ‘The Cradle of Texas’ event in the past which had representatives from the other counties (Madison, Grimes, Waller, Walker, and San Jacinto) that were spun off from the original size of the original Montgomery County that was created in 1837, and how the community center played an important part in the festivities. Shelly Lane noted the brick wall around the community center that was installed by the Civic Club in the late 1930’s, as well as Commissioner T.J. Peel’s creation of the community center in 1948 dedicated to Montgomery’s World War II fallen. She expressed the need for transparency in the process and community involvement.

“We need to know who does the inspections?” said Lane. “The engineers, building maintenance, who went in there, did the inspections, that’s now saying it’s because this must be renovated, then there’s mold, and the walls are moving.”

Montgomery citizen Lindsey Snead spoke to the council on a different matter, in which she had reserved the community center in late October for a Christmas gathering only to be told several days before the event that the building was off limits and had to be canceled. Ms. Snead had gone to great expense for the formal dress party, and had to make many adjustments to have the event held on her own property including hiring a tent to be installed, and the last minute arrangements caused her much distress.

A suggested representation of the new Montgomery Municipal Building shown at the December 9th council meeting

“I’m seeking reimbursement,” said Ms. Snead, in reference to the extra party expenses that she had to assume. “They did give me back my money for the community center, but that didn’t cut it at all. I ended up spending a lot of money that I had already spent on the inside of the community center.”

Ms. Snead wanted to make the event special for her family since this was the last Christmas event she planned before handing off the duty to another family member. Special things like family pictures were not taken due to the mayhem caused by the city’s closure of the community center, which had opened the center to the public during Christmas in Historic Montgomery events just two weeks prior.

Mayor Countryman read several proclamations to honor America’s 250th Celebration Year, as well as to honor the memory of the late Councilman Tom Czulewicz who passed away over the Christmas holiday. The America 250 Celebration Year this summer will commemorate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. It encouraged all residents to join in honoring our nation’s history, celebrating its achievements, and working together toward a brighter and better future. The proclamation to Tom Czulewicz highlighted his service to his country in the US Navy, his public service, being a respected leader, and a compassionate human being and family man. His son and grandson accepted the certificate following the mayor’s reading. Mr. Czulewicz served on Montgomery’s Planning and Zoning Commission, before serving on the City Council, Place 3 until his passing.

The council voted on several consent agenda items that addressed the results of the city council workshop meeting regarding the community center and the new municipal building. During the December 9th council meeting the preliminary design of the new municipal building which will include police and city concerns was unveiled. At this point nothing in the design process is set in stone, and will require coordination between architects, engineers, police and city officials