# Manchester-By-The-Sea Select Board Meeting | October 19, 2026

The Manchester-By-The-Sea Select Board meeting on October 19, 2026, focused on special town meeting warrants, capital spending, and major building projects. The board reviewed a $7.5 million borrowing article for the senior community center renovation, with discussion of a $3 million fundraising goal and whether grants should count toward it; no final recommendation on the article was made. Members also discussed the regional school building project, estimated at $95 million overall, and debated uncertainty around MSBA reimbursement, the town’s eventual share, and future operating costs. The board approved the special town meeting warrant with an amendment splitting one article into two, while deferring its recommendation on the school borrowing article until town meeting. The warrant also includes paying the remaining cost of a replacement fire engine—about $1.11 million, using previously funded reserves and free cash—and paying down water-meter debt. Department capital requests were due the next day, with information expected around mid-November.

Other procurement-related discussion included reviewing data and seeking better terms with the unnamed vendor for the town’s parking enforcement “parking sticks” contract; the contract reportedly has roughly one or two years remaining, and no negotiations with the vendor had yet occurred. The board also discussed a potential shared facilities-management position with the school district and DPW, future options for town meeting voting technology after the current clicker supplier stopped renting additional devices (purchase costs were described as over $20,000), and possible cost and resilience benefits from an agreement to use MassDOT’s fuel depot. No awards or purchases were approved on these items. The board unanimously recommended that the Planning Board clarify the proposed sign bylaw’s definition of a sign as commercial advertising.

**Jurisdictions:** sled
**Industries:** Construction & Infrastructure, Education
**Topics:** Physical Infrastructure, Grants & Funding
**Published:** October 19, 2026

### Sources
- [Manchester-By-The-Sea Select Board Meeting | October 19, 2026](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEOqqSaP5So) - 1623 Studios