Theater had a functional upgrade several years ago

As an emeritus member of the American Society of Theatre Consultants, I would like to address the recently published letter to the editor by Trish Hibben.

The letter points to a need to address functional deficiencies in the Marin Veterans' Memorial Auditorium. From my perspective, such deficiencies were enumerated and resolved in detail in a facilities improvement master plan commissioned by Marin County over 10 years ago. Renovations specific to the auditorium were outlined at length by consultants and the project lead. This was a team of Marin-based consultants with international experience.

While some may quickly point out that available federal funds are specifically targeted to seismic renovations by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, it would be most unfortunate to focus structural improvements without considering the context of the auditorium's theatrical deficiencies.

For example, seismic renovation of the fly tower over the stage by creating a new structural diaphragm could be resolved by installing a new grating rigging gridiron. This is exactly what was done at the War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco after the Loma Prieta quake. FEMA money was used to leverage supplementary private funds. I hope this has been considered by county supervisors. It is a proven winner.

Please do not discount prior study work commissioned and paid for with public funds. The information already in hand could save considerable funds and further recrimination by key users. As the lead theater-planning consultant in the prior effort, it's clear that those complaining loudest want to be at the planning table. Their groups were active participants when the study was undertaken and their input was crucial to the final work product.

— Steve Pollock, San Rafael