RVC village board looks to the future

The Rockville Centre board of trustees hosted an in-person reorganizing meeting on July 6, at which it installed the winners of the village election and appointed Nancy Howard village administrator.

Howard previously served as a village trustee and the Deputy Mayor from July 2011 to May of 2017. She returned as a trustee from July 2019 to July 2021. She worked with every department in the village, and was involved in numerous projects, including infrastructure upgrades, the downtown revitalization and the renovations of numerous parks and ball fields.

Howard also worked with the village comptroller’s office to hold the line on taxes, and with Village Hall to secure grants and gifts for residents. She is now working with the recently created Rockville Centre Beautification Committee, which plans to expand its involvement in the community once it has established a charter.

“I have full confidence in Nancy Howard’s ability to handle the rigors of this appointment,” Mayor Francis Murray said. “She has been an integral part of village government for the better part of a decade, and knows the ins and outs of the job.”

Howard previously worked as a human resources recruitment and training executive at Macy’s and Solomon Brothers. She has been active in the village PTA, the South Side High School Booster Club and the Rockville Centre Education Foundation board, and has helped raise money for the RVC Community Fund. Nancy and her husband, Dave, have lived in the village for more than two decades, and raised their four children here.

Her appointment comes on the heels of the departure of Village Administrator Kathleen Murray, who held the position from early 2016 until last month. Murray supervised nearly 20 departments, and was responsible for the village’s day-to-day operations.

“We thank Kathleen Murray for her years of dedicated service to the village,” Murray said.

At the meeting, Trustees Emilio Grillo and Katie Conlon, who won board seats in the June 15 election, were sworn in. Grillo was an incumbent, while Conlon joined the board for the first time. Kevin McDonough, who was re-elected village justice, was also sworn in. His wife and fellow lawyer Christine swore in Grillo while Conlon took her oath of office from Deputy Chief Administrative Judge George Silver, a family friend, and McDonough was sworn in by Murray.

“I am honored and humbled to join the Rockville Centre board of trustees,” Conlon said. “It meant the world to me to have my family there as I was sworn into office. I am ready and eager to get to work with the mayor, the village administrator and my fellow trustees.”

Grillo said he was honored that voters once again trusted him, and added that he looked forward to accomplishing many things with the board. “As I pledged in my campaign, I look forward to finishing what I started,” he said, “and remain committed to continued collaboration with our mayor and village board and a civil, honest and transparent government.”