First off, I only now realized that I spelled Monti wrong in my original post. My apologies.
I ended up snapping off the columns and got to see the vermetid snails retracting. I guess the coral just grew with the tube. Upon further inspection of the tank, I now see that I have more than enough Vermetids growing on my live rock. Some call it an infestation, others say they don't mind them. I haven't made up my mind yet.