MONTAGUE — Steve Ellis announced Monday that he will step down from his position as town administrator on June 30, having completed his mission to “make an impact” on the place he calls home.

“When I took this job, I said I wanted to form great partnerships with great people to accomplish great things,” Ellis, who has held the position for seven years, told the Selectboard. “I feel like that has largely been fulfilled and I’m excited for what’s in front of us as a community.”

Ellis credited his decision to feeling like he should “address some other opportunities that are really, really important to him,” with potential future professional endeavors being “a secondary consideration.” He voiced his intent to continue delivering high-quality work and “finish strong” before taking his leave at the end of the fiscal year.

Ellis, 57, was appointed to his position on December 2016 following the retirement of predecessor Frank Abbondanzio. The Boston native, who moved to Franklin County when he was in high school, has three decades of service to the state under his belt. Before joining Montague’s municipal staff, he had been serving as director of the Applied Research and Program Evaluation group (ARPE) at the UMass Donahue Institute in Hadley, where he worked for more than 20 years.

“I came to Montague with a desire to do work that would have a greater and more direct impact on our community,” he recalled, “and that is exactly the opportunity this job gave to me.”

Ellis said his favorite part about his time as town administrator has been connecting with the people of Montague, who he touted as very respectful and confident in their governing officials. He added that while he’s taken pride in a variety of projects during his seven years with the town, he still has more than half a year of work ahead of him, and he “wants to allow that script to continue to be written.”

Selectboard Chair Rich Kuklewicz voiced his appreciation for Ellis following his announcement toward the end of Monday’s meeting.

“You’ve made a real major impact in town in the time you’ve been in this role, and it shows,” he told Ellis. His sentiments were echoed by the other board members.

Ellis did not close the door on a return to the professional sphere at some point, but for now, his focus is on his life as “a very active person with a variety of interests.”

“My goal is to give myself time to consider what my next steps are, and I know that in the very near term, I have some personal goals that need fulfilling,” he said.

The Selectboard intends to discuss logistics regarding the hiring process for Ellis’ replacement at a future meeting. Ellis said since it is typical for a town administrator to be “closely involved” in the hiring process for any municipal official, it would be standard that the Selectboard call upon him for help in selecting his successor.

Reach Julian Mendoza at 413-930-4231 or jmendoza@recorder.com.