City Notebook – July 19, 2007

The Kiwanis Club should get a chance to negotiate a new, 20-year licensing agreement to operate Casa Loma, Toronto City Council has decided.

But the battle for control may not be over. Richard Wozenilek, chair of the castle’s board, says the Kiwanians will insist on having voting control, something Councillor Joe Mihevc (Ward 21, St. Paul’s) vowed to fight as “totally, totally inappropriate” for a city-owned building.

An advisory committee had recommended setting up a new Casa Loma Trust to run the deteriorating facility, but after Kiwanis mounted a strong lobbying campaign,councillors backed away.

Mihevc said a poor governing structure is at the heart of the castle’s troubles – the city owns and maintains the exterior while Kiwanis maintains the interior and runs programs.

Councillor Mike Del Grande (Ward 39, Scarborough Agincourt) said it would be inconsistent for the city to insist on a tightly crafted deal with Kiwanis: “We’ve done a lot of lousy deals in this city, and now suddenly the standard is different for this group.” Council did adopt Councillor Howard Moscoe’s motion to have the city review Casa Loma’s budgets.

Wozenilek noted that under the new governance structure, still to be negotiated, the city is likely to appoint half the directors, although Kiwanis will insist on the tiebreaking vote.

“Why should we not have the ability to control what happens with the license? It only makes sense,” he said.

“We haven’t been operating this for 70 years to then turn around and act in a crazy fashion.”

The Kiwanis Club should get a chance to negotiate a new, 20-year licensing agreement to operate Casa Loma, Toronto City Council has decided.

But the battle for control may not be over. Richard Wozenilek, chair of the castle's board, says the Kiwanians will insist on having voting control, something Councillor Joe Mihevc (Ward 21, St. Paul's) vowed to fight as "totally, totally inappropriate" for a city-owned building.

An advisory committee had recommended setting up a new Casa Loma Trust to run the deteriorating facility, but after Kiwanis mounted a strong lobbying campaign,councillors backed away.

Mihevc said a poor governing structure is at the heart of the castle's troubles – the city owns and maintains the exterior while Kiwanis maintains the interior and runs programs.

Councillor Mike Del Grande (Ward 39, Scarborough Agincourt) said it would be inconsistent for the city to insist on a tightly crafted deal with Kiwanis: "We've done a lot of lousy deals in this city, and now suddenly the standard is different for this group." Council did adopt Councillor Howard Moscoe's motion to have the city review Casa Loma's budgets.

Wozenilek noted that under the new governance structure, still to be negotiated, the city is likely to appoint half the directors, although Kiwanis will insist on the tiebreaking vote.

"Why should we not have the ability to control what happens with the license? It only makes sense," he said.

"We haven't been operating this for 70 years to then turn around and act in a crazy fashion."

Globe & Mail

By JENNIFER LEWINGTON AND JEFF GRAY

Council approves new rules for off-leash areas in parks and finally decides the fate of Casa Loma

Meanwhile, the battle for Casa Loma - seen as Toronto's tired, aging castle on a hill - was finally won yesterday when city council voted to keep it in the hands of the Kiwanis Club, despite objections from a handful of councillors.

The fight pitted the local councillor, Joe Mihevc (Ward 21, St. Paul's), an ally of Mayor David Miller, against the Kiwanians, who hired Paul Sutherland, a former councillor and well-connected lobbyist, to knock on doors and make their case at city hall.

Their efforts helped reverse a recommendation by a blue-ribbon panel that they be stripped of their control of the city-owned palatial home, which the Kiwanis Club says remains the city's No. 2 tourist attraction, next to the CN Tower.

Council voted yesterday 32-5 to instruct bureaucrats to enter into negotiations to seek a new licence agreement with Kiwanis, possibly for as long as 20 years. A move to have the place's books inspected more regularly was referred back to the bureaucracy for further study. The final agreement with the Kiwanis is to return to council by fall for approval.

The city will likely be allowed to appoint some board members, but Kiwanis chairman Richard Wozenilek says his bottom line is for his group to retain the majority and the chairmanship.

Mr. Mihevc had argued that a new arm's-length Casa Loma Trust, more accountable to the city, be set up and run in the same way as the zoo and Exhibition Place.

He said Casa Loma - for which the city is paying $20-million in exterior renovations - is a massive missed-opportunity for the city, and needs a more dynamic, professional board to run it. As it stands, he said, the Kiwanis Club has done too little with the place.

"Go to Casa Loma right now, go to the second floor. It's a bunch of empty rooms," he said, adding that city staff believe it could bring in a lot more money - enough to run it and restore it - if the castle's potential was fully exploited as a tourist destination.

Mr. Mihevc also questioned the Kiwanis Club's move to hire a lobbyist to influence city staff and councillors.

"Could you imagine if the zoo hired a lobbyist to lobby us? Guess what, they paid a whack of money to hire a lobbyist to lobby us as to how they would be governed. ... To my mind, that's inappropriate," Mr. Mihevc said.

Mr. Wozenilek said the Kiwanis has ambitious plans to restore and renew Casa Loma. And he denied allegations that Kiwanis planned to hand a lucrative operating contract to Toronto's Liberty Entertainment Group, saying any contract would be open to competition.

The mayor supported the Kiwanis deal, as did deputy mayor Joe Pantalone, who yesterday said starting over and leaving the attraction in limbo would only deepen its decline: "Twenty or 30 years ago, Casa Loma was an iconic element in the city. Somehow, we let it slip."

Kelly Patrick
National Post

Copyright © 2007 CanWest Interactive, a division of CanWest MediaWorks Publications, Inc.. All rights reserved.  © National Post 2007

Council’s executive committee yesterday narrowly endorsed a plan to leave the Kiwanis Club in charge of Casa Loma for another 20 years — despite an advisory panel’s recommendation that the historic castle’s operations be overseen by a public trust and be put out for competitive tender.

“Casa Loma has deteriorated into largely a third-class banquet hall,” Councillor Howard Moscoe complained. “The Kiwanis proposal might make it a first-class banquet hall, but it lacks the excitement that needs to be injected into what has become a very sad situation.”

The Kiwanis Club of Casa Loma has operated the interior of the Edwardian castle near Spadina Road and Dupont Street since 1937; the city, which owns the building, is responsible for its exterior.

Under a long-standing deal that expires on Dec. 31, 2008, Kiwanis pays a portion of the castle’s operating revenue to the city, which holds the cash in a trust to cover external repairs.

In 2006, Casa Loma paid the city $923,000.

The Kiwanis Club of Casa Loma’s chairman said yesterday it would be manifestly unfair to wrest control from the group after seven decades.

“We’re the ones that branded this building,” Richard Wozenilek said. “We’re the ones that made it the tourist icon. After 70 years of very, very hard work, to now just cast aside that 70-year relationship, that’s absurd.”

Questions about Casa Loma’s future have swirled since 2004, when the city set up an external advisory panel called the Casa Loma Advisory Committee [CLAC] to examine the castle’s operations.

Last summer, CLAC delivered a controversial report recommending a public trust — similar to the not-for-profit trusts that run the Toronto Zoo and Exhibition Place–be set up to oversee the castle’s operations.

It suggested a competitive bidding process be established to find a private company or group to run Casa Loma’s day-to-day operations.

The report invited the Kiwanis Club to bid.

However, the service club bristled at the report’s suggestion it cede control. Marshalling its volunteers, the club last summer convinced a council committee to send the CLAC report back for more study.

Yesterday, the issue reemerged at executive committee with a new recommendation that the Kiwanis Club stay in charge, as long as it is willing to make substantial changes.

The Club proposes to renovate the building’s interior, add a new year-round restaurant and focus on attracting tourists from within the city.

The precise details are still to be sorted, but the plan could also see the city nominate 50% of an expanded 14-member board, with Kiwanis members reserving the power to break a tie.

Councillor Joe Mihevic, who sat on CLAC, moved a motion the public trust idea be revived.

Mayor David Miller spoke against that option.

“This isn’t coming as a blank slate out of the blue,” he said. “It’s coming with a history and the Kiwanis have had an important part of that history, and I think it’s important for us to respect that,” the Mayor said.

The plan still has to win the full council’s approval.

kpatrick@nationalpost.com