A worrying insight into the workings of Boston Business “Improvement” District has emerged after last Tuesday’s meeting descended into chaos.
Our report comes from one of the company’s directors, Darron Abbott – who was elected to the BID board to represent one of the businesses which pays its enforced “levy”
He told Boston Eye: “Tuesday 10th July saw the first attempt by Boston BID to connect to its members in what is hoped to become regular quarterly meetings.
“A very small audience gathered - which probably shows how the apathy for anything BID has developed over the last few years, and perhaps also demonstrated how much BID has achieved in this time.
“The evening started well when it appeared two of the directors sat at the front asked for a copy of the agenda - as it became apparent they had not been sent a copy.
“Then on to the agenda. The chairman seemed to move into an attempt to approve the minutes of the last Annual General Meeting that was held in March.
“One of the business owners present then pointed out that these minutes should be approved at the next AGM - not at a members’ meeting.
“After a few minutes it was decided to move on to the other items on the agenda and forget about this.
“On the agenda were a list of items that BID wanted businesses to know about.
“The first was the extension of the ranger service into the evening to help the pubs, clubs and restaurants.
“At this point one business owner asked why the rangers were always seen in pairs - even when their duties were just to hand out leaflets.
“The spokesman on the board stated it was for their own safety. It was then asked “why now” - when they had patrolled on their own in the past.
“This could not be answered, and a promise was made to bring this information forward to the next meeting in October.
“The chairman then went on to list the achievements of the rangers and mentioned that each month the board are presented with figures on the number of shoplifters etc. that are apprehended.
“It was asked if they were at hand.
“The manager of BID declared he had not brought them to the meeting.
“The discussion then continued about the rangers being used for the night time economy.
“The chairman declared that a survey had been carried out of the pubs and restaurants, but once again no one seemed have bothered to have brought these results to the meeting!
“The next item BID wanted the businesses to know about was Street Deep Clean. This was an idea of BID's to have a company come along, and basically pressure wash the paths and seal them.
“A quote from this company totalled around £23,000.
“When further questions were asked about the areas included and the breakdown of costs, the manager declared he had neglected to bring these details to the meeting.
“But it was apparent that the area to be cleaned in the £23,000 was the newly refurbished Market Place, but the long neglected West Street area had not been covered.
“Next came Britain in Bloom.
“It appears BID had entered Boston's magnificent floral display in the East Midland Section of the competition. From the report from the BID Manager it appeared that the judges were not overwhelmed. He went on to explain this was just the first year of a pilot project and it was hoped it would grow (sorry, no pun intended) in future years, (echoes of the failed Portas Pilot bid seemed to creak around the room.).
“It was pointed out the BID's hanging baskets were quite expensive compared with some that could be purchased elsewhere.
“It was also discovered that Boston Borough Council do their own thing regarding their floral displays - why was there no joined-up effort?
“Finally one business member asked about the missing item from the agenda -  described as "the secret party in the park."
“It was a surprising omission, considering the Boston Beat event is to take place on the 21st July- less than two weeks’ time - and BID had paid a company from Grantham £10,000 to stage the event.
“There seemed some concern in the room that no one had heard of this event. and had seen no publicity it.
“One of the directors then declared that he had not heard about the event either -  before the board meeting in late June.
“It then transpired that none of the other directors had known about it - not even the chairman (now that is a concern.)
“The rogue director then seemed to suggest that the relevant documentation regarding licences had not been filed with the council on time.
“The board and the manager moved to reassure those present that this director that he was wrong.
“A copy of an e-mail was then circulated that suggested the council had not received the relevant notifications on time.
“The director who had raised concerns then seemed to resign from the board over his concerns regarding the event.
“The discussions then continued.
“It appears the terms of the contract with the event company were very vague, and no one seemed sure as to who was responsible for what in particular for the promotion. It appears that the only promotion to date was an advert in the Lincolnshire Show magazine.
“One of the directors mentioned their business had been involved in an event organised by the company in the past and they had lost money due to the poor organisation and lack of promotion.
“The board then seemed to make a decision that they must pull out all the stops to make the event a success and hold an inquest at a later date.
“The Rogue Director (now sitting at the back)  suggested during this review that the manager’s position should also be reviewed.
“The manager at this point declared his resignation and walked out.
“The discussion turned to praising the manager and how hard he worked for BID etc. “The trouble causer then stated he did not suggest that the manager be sacked but his role in the organisation as it appeared he could make unilateral decisions without consulting or informing the board, he also suggested that the whole of the board should look at their roles.
“The meeting then tailed off and another then took place regarding the organisation of the Christmas market - which BID are now responsible for.”

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