Auditorium’s Renovation Is Delayed : Refurbishment: Higher-than-budgeted bids force re-evaluation of plans to improve Plummer Auditorium.

FULLERTON â€”  Renovation of the 60-year-old Plummer Auditorium will be delayed by about a year because of cost problems, city officials have said, causing aggravation for some performing arts groups and presenters that rent North County’s most widely used concert hall.

The auditorium was to be closed for refurbishment from July, 1991, through mid-1992, Fullerton officials said last spring. But the project had to be re-evaluated when construction bids of more than $2 million exceeded the $1.3 million budgeted. Now work probably will not begin until the summer of 1992, said Terry Galvin, manager for Fullerton’s Redevelopment Agency.

“That’s this week’s estimate,� said Galvin, adding that he and other redevelopment personnel have been meeting with officials of the Fullerton Union High School District, owner of the 1,300-seat auditorium.

“We’re trying to analyze where we might be able to scale down the project or see if there’s the possibility of getting additional funds from somewhere,� he said.

In exchange for a discount on rent for 90 days annually for 10 years, the Redevelopment Agency has agreed to pay for renovation of the auditorium, which needs air conditioning, an orchestra pit, more public restrooms, an updated sound system and other improvements, officials have said.

The renovation delay means money out of the pocket of the Fullerton Civic Light Opera, which annually presents three musical comedies at Plummer, CLO general manager Griff Duncan said.

“The theater doesn’t have many amenities and certain equipment, so I have to absorb extra expenses that in a class-A theater I wouldn’t have to incur,� he said.

The delay hurts attendance too, Duncan said. Without air conditioning, “people who have been there on a very hot night just don’t come back,� he said.