LYNN – Plans to install air conditioning in City Hall Veterans Memorial Auditorium are on hold, city officials said Monday, after bid estimates for the work came back $500,000 more than anticipated.”This exceeds the anticipated budget by quite a bit. We’re trying to find out why,” city Inspectional Services Director Michael Donovan said.The 2,112-seat auditorium hosted 20 “headlining” concerts in fall 2011 through the spring, said city Community Development Director James Marsh, in addition to dance recitals and smaller shows.But Marsh said the auditorium is too hot in the summer to host concerts without air conditioning.”Without air conditioning, we will have to go dark again from June 2013 to August,” Marsh said Monday.Marsh had hoped to book concerts for the first time in the summer of 2013.Three firms interested in installing the air conditioning submitted bids last week to city Purchasing Director Charles White’s office.North Abington-based APEX Corp. offered a low bid of $1.31 million; Saugus-based Thomas E. Snowden, Inc. proposed doing the work for $1.37 million and CAM HVAC & Construction Inc. of Smithfield, R.I. put in a $1.67 million bid to do the work.”We thought we would be around $800,000,” Donovan said.Marsh said consultant engineers hired by the city last December estimated installing air conditioning in the auditorium would cost between $750,000 and $800,000. Marsh and Donovan said they will review the bid proposals against the engineers’ reports to determine why the proposals exceeded the estimates.Donovan said the city has the option of rebidding the air conditioning project.Marsh said the city secured a $234,000 state tax dollar grant to help pay for the air conditioning, but he said the high bids come at a time when the city is starting to compete with owners of other small and mid-sized auditoriums for musical acts.Rockers Peter Frampton and Pat Benatar played Veterans Memorial Auditorium and Marsh said the city “has found a niche in classic rock and Latin shows” to fill the auditorium’s seats.He said Worcester, Lowell and other communities have auditoriums roughly the size of Veterans Memorial.”We’re at a disadvantage. These venues are open 12 months a year, I’m saying no to shows – it’s just too hot,” Marsh said.Thor Jourgensen can be reached at [email protected].