Midtown’s Castle is now caught in the middle of what may turn out to be a full-scale battle between the city and the Kiwanis Club of Casa Loma.
Mayor David Miller had given the Kiwanis until July 31 to suggest a new chair for a joint board charged with the task of upgrading the castle. However the date passed without action, and instead, the Kiwanis, who have managed the castle since 1937, issued a public statement last month refuting city orders.
“I think we have to realistically think about what’s happened in this situation,” said Kiwanis president, Joachim Gerschkow, about the city’s actions and his own decision to support chair Richard Wozenilek.
Wozenilek is at the centre of a conflict of interest issue that prompted Miller’s demand for his removal: he failed to declare that he worked for law firm Keel Cottrelle, which had been hired by and received a $118,000 payment from Casa Loma.
A report publicly released at a council meeting last July also revealed that the upgrade project suffered from mismanagement problems. For instance, project completion deadlines had been missed, including renovation target dates for the hunting lodge. The report also stated that the Kiwanis Club was $160,000 short in providing required project funds.
Coun. Joe Mihevc, the official liaison for the castle, said he is disappointed in the Kiwanis Club’s response to city recommendations.
“[Casa Loma] is a city-owned facility and not a Kiwanis facility,” he said. “We need to find a way to be more collegial here.”
For others, collegiality is out of the question. Trelawny Howell, the great-grandniece of Casa Loma’s original owner, Henry Pellatt, said she hopes that the latest response prompts the city to break ties with the Kiwanis Club: “I just hope and pray the city can break the lease.”
Mihevc said city staff members are trying to work with Kiwanis to come to a resolution.