Monday on Cape Ann: Essex sets its Fall Town Meeting and a Dec. 10 school override vote, Manchester approves its special town meeting warrant

Three Cape Ann boards meet Monday, Oct. 19, with votes that set up decisions for this fall. Here is what their posted agendas say.

Essex Board of Selectmen, 6 p.m.

The selectmen meet in the third floor auditorium at Town Hall, 30 Martin St. The agenda lists votes to:

• Hold the Fall Town Meeting on Monday, Nov. 16, at 6:45 p.m. at Essex Elementary School, and open, fill, close, approve and sign its warrant.
• Hold a Special Town Election on Thursday, Dec. 10, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Public Safety Facility, on a Proposition 2 1/2 override question for the Essex Elementary School replacement project, and send the ballot language to the Town Clerk.
• Approve retiree health care renewal rates for 2027, and consider which projects to put forward for Community Preservation Act money at Fall Town Meeting.

At 6:30 p.m., the Board of Fire Engineers and the Finance Committee join the selectmen to discuss how keeping two weekday shifts and a full-time chief in fiscal 2028 would be covered by other budget changes, and the steps toward possibly hiring a full-time fire chief, including the job description and a screening committee. Read about the fire plan. At 7 p.m. the board holds its quarterly meeting with department heads and board chairs.

The agenda includes public comment. People can also join by video through the FreeConferenceCall link on the agenda, or by phone at (425) 436-6352, access code 1729820. The agenda also notes a Planning Board public hearing on zoning articles for Fall Town Meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 21, at 7 p.m. in the Town Hall auditorium.

Manchester-by-the-Sea Select Board, 6:30 p.m.

The board meets at Town Hall and on Zoom (meeting ID 841 0139 2247, passcode 866725, or call 646-558-8656). Action items:

• Approve the special town meeting warrant and the special town election warrant and send them to the constable for posting.
• Send a proposed change to the town's sign bylaw to the Planning Board for a public hearing.
• The naming of Pine Street Field.

The agenda opens with public comment on items not on the agenda, and includes the town administrator's quarterly review.

Gloucester City Council Ordinances and Administration Committee, 6 p.m.

The committee meets in the Harbormaster's conference room, 19 Harbor Loop, and on Zoom (meeting ID 820 0143 8061). It takes up a proposed ordinance on shopping carts, continued from Sept. 14, that would add rules on identifying carts, keeping them on store property and enforcement. It also has a memo from the city's general counsel proposing a change to the city's marijuana retail rules, and an appointment to the Fisheries Commission.

Earlier coverage: Essex's $24.5 million budget, line by line (Oct. 8), how the town's budget is built.