The Exhibition Place board of governors agreed Friday to move towards extending Muzik nightclub’s lease by another 10 years, pending council’s approval.

If passed, the decision will prevent anyone else from bidding on the city-owned property until 2034.

Tempers appeared to have already flared in advance of the meeting, thanks in part to a letter sent to media by Councillors Mike Layton — also an Exhibition Place board member — and Gord Perks.

The letter was addressed to the Toronto and East York Community Council and in it, the pair of councillors asked the Alcohol and Gaming Commission (AGCO) to review the club’s liquor licence “for a suspension or revocation.”

The correspondence came as a surprise to many board members, and Layton, one of five councillors that sit on the board, quickly drew their ire.

Scarborough-Agincourt ward Councillor Jim Karygiannis told the Star he thought the letter was “media-getting.”

York West Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti said, “I believe there is an attempt to discredit and deliberately go after one venue here . . . a very precise and calculated effort.

“Whenever Councillor Layton doesn’t get his way on this board he goes to council, he’s a whiner. I’m sorry, he’s not a whiner, he just seems like one.”

Layton, whose ward includes the Canadian National Exhibition grounds, said Friday that he was simply doing his job.

“There is absolutely no vendetta against this tenant,” said Layton, citing his objective is to “protect the people on the premises and those in the community that surround it.”

The latest debate over Muzik’s fate comes in the wake of fatal shootings there last month early in the morning of Aug. 4 garnered worldwide attention, thanks to the club’s hosting of the official after-party of Toronto rap superstar Drake’s concert at the nearby Molson Amphitheatre earlier that night.

Despite the presence of a phalanx of police outside the nightspot and more than five dozen private security guards that night, Duvel Hibbert, 23, was gunned down inside Muzik at around 3 a.m. and Ariela Navarro-Fenoy, 26, was shot dead shortly after, outside the club, just south of the Dufferin Gate. Three other people were injured in the eruption of gunfire.

According to the letter from Layton and Perks, the AGCO has done 14 inspections of Muzik since 2012; six infractions were recorded, ranging in severity from narcotic use to permitting disorderly behaviour on the premises.

Despite the Drake incident and Layton’s pleas, however, the board agreed to inform both the Toronto and East York Community Council and AGCO that they have no issue with Muzik’s liquor licence.

Prior to the decision, Muzik owner Zlatko Starkovski emphasized to the board his operation’s track record as a world-renowned entertainment venue.

“Considering we have had almost two million people in there and those little charges over 10 years, it’s an actual immaculate record in reality,” he said.

Standing by Starkovski’s side was club lawyer Michael Binetti, who called Layton’s letter a “misguided motion” and a “back door” approach to closing the club’s doors.

“What we have seen over this summer is that random acts of violence can happen anywhere,” Binetti said. “Yes, the events that happened at Muzik are tragic . . . but frankly, they can happen anywhere.”

As a result of multiple meetings with Toronto Police, Ontario Provincial Police and the ACGO, both Binetti and Starkovski said a new and improved security plan has been set in place. More cameras and new walk-through metal detectors have also been installed for the club’s reopening on Sept. 12.

“We feel fully confident that this will become the safest entertainment venue in the country,” Starkovski said.

The board also decided to spare after-party for Drake’s annual summer concert known as OVO Fest from the chopping block.

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Councillor Karygiannis called for a motion to examine the board’s ability to ban the event, but CEO Dianne Young said she did not believe there are legal grounds to forbid Muzik from hosting any particular after-party.

Still, Binetti appealed to the board to loosen restrictions in the establishment’s lease. This “unshackling,” Binetti suggested, would allow the club to host banquets and trade shows.

“Then, maybe Muzik doesn’t have to book these OVO-type events that everyone seems to think is a problem.”

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