MIDDLEBORO — Middleboro Town Meeting voters on Monday, April 24 approved a budget of nearly $113 million with no debate but had considerably more to say on issues of revolving fund oversight, Peirce Building historic preservation and the purchase of the parking lot in the town center. 

After some discussion, voters approved spending up to $750,000 for a parking lot at 13 School St. in the town center. That cost could be reduced through grants and money raised by selling town-owned parcels at 15 Station St., 2 Cambridge St. and 10 Cambridge St., Town Manager James McGrail explained, which voters authorized the town to do earlier in the meeting. 

McGrail said the town will hire an appraiser to determine a potential price tag for the three parcels. 

Town Planner Leann Bradley described owning the lot as a “long-term strategic investment in our downtown.’’ A potential alternative, the construction of apartment buildings on the site, would be a “disaster,’’ Select Board member Neil Rosenthal said.

Voters also supported placing a historic preservation restriction on the exterior of the Peirce Building at 99 North Main St. after rejecting a proposal to delay the decision to a future meeting.

Middleboro businessman William Decas has offered to donate $1 million toward the preservation of the building, with the stipulation a historical preservation restriction be placed on the building. 

Questions were raised by some voters about the details of the donation and whether an agreement had officially been signed. If the money is “not in hand, we shouldn’t be doing it,’’ Select Board member Brian Giovanoni said. 

Supporters noted the issue had been on the radar for a long time and needed to be decided now. The cost for the historical restriction would not be borne by taxpayers, supporters noted, but would be paid by Decas.

Voters also rejected two articles brought forward by residents.

One would have required all expenses made by the Tourism Committee and Lakeville-Middleboro Herring Commission to be authorized by the Town Manager. 

Documents have been circulated questioning some expenses made by the Tourism Committee, whose responsibilities include hosting town events such as the Herring Festival and the holiday light display. A recent financial audit reported no wrongdoing.

Ann Cavanaugh, the committee’s treasurer, said all expenses are overseen by the Office of Community and Economic Development, the town treasurer’s office and ultimately the state.

“Everything is done above board,’’ she said, and accounts balance “to the penny.’’ She noted that the “Town Manager has way better things to do with his time’’ than oversee event spending.

The other called for residents of the Oak Point Community, a manufactured housing community, to be reimbursed for what was described as an overcharge of fees in the amount of $80,950. 

The error in how these fees should be calculated was not caught by the Select Board, which also serves as the rent control board regarding mobile home parks, said resident Paula Fay, who said she was representing other residents in the community but would not personally benefit from any potential reimbursement.

Because town officials did not catch the error, the town should be responsible for correcting the situation, she said. The amount, she said, would ultimately be less costly than potential legal action.

But Town Counsel Gregg Corbo said the request was “fraught with many legal deficiencies’’ and would likely be rejected by the state Department of Revenue because this spending would “take public funds to resolve a dispute between two private parties.’’

The article was defeated by a wide margin.