LOCAL ELECTIONS: PROPOSITION B : $124 Million Sought to Tune Up Cultural Facilities

Los Angeles may have an image as the city of the future, but much of its cultural infrastructure is falling apart.

At the Hollywood Bowl, for example, the electrical system is antiquated, the plumbing needs a complete overhaul and the aging band shell is acoustically out of date and in constant need of patching, says Ernest Fleischmann, managing director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Assn.

“There are performers who just won’t play there because they feel they can’t be heard properly,” Fleischmann said.

Proposition B, a sweeping $817-million county bond proposal known as the Safe Neighborhood Parks Act, would help improve historic cultural institutions such as the bowl. If approved on Tuesday, the measure will provide $124.5 million for what officials say are desperately needed renovations and repairs for these sites. It would add $10 a year to the average property tax bill.

Besides the bowl, which would receive $35 million, other cultural and educational institutions that stand to benefit from Proposition B include the Los Angeles Zoo ($30 million); the Griffith Observatory ($13 million); the Los Angeles County Museum of Art ($10 million); the County Museum of Natural History ($13 million); the California Museum of Science and Industry ($20 million) and the John Anson Ford Theater ($1.5 million), which is near the bowl and is also operated by the county.

At the problem-plagued zoo, which has been cited repeatedly for violations by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, plans are afoot for a $150-million-dollar renovation project that would revamp the animals’ surroundings, bringing the 25-year-old facility in line with contemporary thinking in the zoo world.

Sheldon Jensen, assistant general manager of the city Parks and Recreation Department, which has taken over operation of the zoo, said the redesign would enable animals to be grouped with others from the same geographical region in “biomes”--areas that more nearly approximate their natural habitat.

“New designs of zoos really take care of the needs of animals,” Jensen said. “Zoos have to change to meet that challenge and need.”

At the city-operated Griffith Observatory, funds are needed to tear out seats dating from the 1930s, replace the planetarium ceiling and expand the museum space, Jensen said.

Officials of the other institutions said they would use the money as follows:

* County Museum of Art: Roofs of the three older buildings are in such bad shape that they have to be replaced, said Chief Deputy Director Ron Bretton. Two boilers, used to provide humidity necessary for protecting precious works of art, are so defective that they “could blow up at any time,” he said.

* County Museum of Natural History: A new roof, seismic upgrades and access for the disabled are some of the renovation projects at the Exposition Park facility, part of which dates back to 1913, said Marcus Rodriguez, assistant director.

* California Museum of Science and Industry: Two 1912 buildings were closed last month on the recommendation of the state architect, who found them seismically unsafe. The buildings also have “sewage systems that back up” and leaky roofs, said Jeffrey N. Rudolph, executive director. Other Proposition B money would be used to acquire some private land in order to create more parkland around the museum, Rudolph added.

* John Anson Ford Theater: Additional parking is needed as well as renovation of the dressing rooms, which resemble “concrete jail cells,” Fleischmann said.

He said Proposition B money would also be used at the Hollywood Bowl--the summer home of the Philharmonic--to add women’s restrooms, improve security by installing closed-circuit television surveillance in the parking lots, erect a barrier to cut down on noise from the Hollywood Freeway and complete the speed ramp system so that patrons can be whisked up to the cheaper seats.

Another $2 million would be used to restore nearby county-owned historic bungalows, which will be used for adult education classes in the arts, Fleischmann said.

Funding for the Yes on B campaign has come from the Los Angeles Philharmonic Assn. ($215,000); Museum Associates, the support group for LACMA, ($20,000); the Natural History Museum Foundation ($20,000); the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Assn. ($25,000) and individual members of the California Museum Foundation, the private support arm of the Science and Industry Museum, and Friends of the Observatory.

No money has been raised in opposition to the measure, but Joel Fox, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn. and Jay Curtis, president of the Los Angeles Taxpayers Assn. object on grounds that the bond issue is too costly.

Proposition B was placed on the ballot against the wishes of Chief Administrative Officer Richard B. Dixon, who said it may jeopardize future measures designed to meet “critical jail needs and future health facility requirements.”