GLENDALE : Renovation OKd for Auditorium

Glendale school board members have approved plans for a $320,843 renovation of the Crescenta Valley High School auditorium, where equipment and furnishings date back to 1959, when the building was built.

The board unanimously voted Tuesday night for a two-phase upgrade inside the 1,532-seat auditorium after reviewing maintenance reports earlier this month from Gregory A. Williams, auditorium facilities supervisor.

“The (electrical) system has gone way beyond its useful life, and we cannot maintain it,” Williams told the board during its Nov. 2 meeting. “We can’t replace little pieces and parts of it.”

Williams said that by improving the equipment inside the 35,000-square-foot structure, which has no air conditioning, outside groups looking for auditoriums to rent for performances or events may be interested. An average of four or five community events a year are held in the auditorium at the La Crescenta campus, contrasted with an average of 40 to 50 a year at Glendale High’s modernized, air-conditioned facility.

Tuesday’s action allows district staff members to seek contract bids next summer for the first phase of the project, which includes about $188,250 to replace electrical, audio and other stage equipment.

Staff members will then seek contractors in 1995 for the second phase, which will cost about $132,593 for replacing worn-out seats and decade-old carpeting.

District officials expect to pay for the project using money from a special, $3.2-million reserve fund for various emergencies, and from a safety fund for insurance.