Field of dreams becomes nightmare
Central Tech sports teams and students frustrated by delays in completing dome
Students at Central Technical School are urging the education minister to intervene in a snarled deal between the Toronto District School Board and a private company to build a $6-million seasonal dome over the school’s field.
Bright, fresh concrete footings have been poured, trees cleared and the ground levelled, but the field looks more like a dust bowl than the dome it’s supposed to become.
“Central Tech is one of the largest TDSB schools in the City of Toronto, and has a proud history and sports heritage,” reads a petition created by student athletes at the school. “We used to have a very active and proud student body, but over the last couple of years, our student morale and engagement have suffered. This week, one of our best football coaches resigned as a direct result of not having a track and field.”
The online petition has been signed by more than 300 students and is addressed to Education Minister Liz Sandals and all TDSB trustees.
“We feel like we are being held hostage and, if trustees are not willing to act decisively, we will be left with a big hole in our field for many more years,” it says.
Construction of the dome has been halted and may stop completely, according to Matt Raizenne, owner of Razor Management Inc., the company behind the project.
“We have only completed 20 per cent of the construction at Central Tech. We are considering moving this project to another school board in the GTA that wants to have a university-calibre facility at no cost to their board,” Raizenne wrote in an email to the Star.
The reason behind the delay is a $505,000 retroactive tax bill handed to Razor Management for the dome it erected at Monarch Park Collegiate. According to Raizenne, the company was given the bill just 38 days before it was due and will have to raise permit rates at Monarch Park by 78 per cent to cover the taxes — which will all but eliminate youth programming there.
“It is important to note that the agreement between the Toronto District School Board and Razor Management Inc. (RMI) states that RMI is responsible for payment of any taxes assessed on the property,” read a statement from TDSB. “That being said, RMI is a valued partner in completing this Central Tech project and that is why a meeting with the director of education has been scheduled to discuss the issues.”
Without the board’s support in seeking a school capital-facility property-tax exemption, Raizenne said his company can’t afford to operate both sites, especially while similar sites operate tax-free.
“We are aware of four domes on city land that have never been approached by MPAC (Municipal Property Tax Assessment Corp.) and are not paying property taxes,” said Raizenne, who described the tax assessment as “highly suspect and intentionally ruthless.” MPAC spokeswoman Darlene Rich denied the assessment was targeted. “There’s really nothing out of the ordinary there. The city of Toronto sent MPAC a notice that they had issued a building permit for Monarch Park, which is normal process.”
The project at Central Tech has faced road blocks from its inception.
The original plan included a run- ning track, FIFA-grade artificial turf and the dome, which would cover the field four to five months of the year.
Students would use the field during school hours and Razor would rent it out on the evenings and weekends.
The deal almost died last winter, when a residents association opposed the project. But a compromise was reached after mediation at the Ontario Municipal Board.
The revised project retained the track and turf, but the dome would be much smaller, covering only the field. Now even the scaled-back project is in jeopardy.
“Obviously the board wants this guy to fail,” said Jonathan Frankel, football coach and a physical education teacher at Central Tech. “That’s the only observation I can see. They want their partner to fail.”
Shari Schwartz-Maltz, a TDSB spokeswoman, denied the board wants the project to fail, saying, “We’re very committed to the project; we want this field for the kids.”
The board has deferred any decision on supporting RMI until after the company appeals to MPAC. But an appeal could take up to two years, and Raizenne said the TDSB has the ability to solve the problem today. RMI has not appealed, he added.
Meanwhile, Central Tech’s students continue to suffer.
“It’s been really frustrating. Our board has dropped the ball,” said Frankel. “This should have been done three years ago.” With files from Patty Winsa