Building committee approves roof-edge school identification signs for Middletown Middle‑High School

The Middletown Building Committee voted April 30 to install building‑identification signs on the low roof areas above the administrative entries of the new Middletown Middle‑High School, approving the roof‑edge configuration shown in the architects' drawings.

The committee’s decision follows a presentation by the project architect, who said the planning board had approved the proposed exterior signage but asked the design team to study whether the roof‑edge letters could instead be mounted on a wall surface. “We got approval from the planning board for the exterior signage that we're showing, the sizes and the types,” the architect said while walking the committee through three sign types on each approach: a site entrance sign, a drop‑off loop seat‑wall sign and the building identification letters shown at the roof edge.

Committee members and staff discussed alternatives offered by the design team — wall‑mounted letters, ground‑mounted “totem” letters, and precast seat‑wall signs — and debated materials, vandalism resistance and visual impacts. Several members expressed a preference for painted aluminum letters rather than poured concrete lettering. The architect said the precast entrance and drop‑off signs would be cast as single pieces and suggested carrying a bid allowance for any future design changes.

Public safety considerations figured prominently in the discussion. The committee heard from the director of public safety, who said the proposed roof‑edge signs best identify the correct entrance for first responders arriving from multiple jurisdictions and therefore “strongly urge[d]…the sign stays where it was proposed by the architects.” Committee members also noted the planning board’s concern that the town ordinance is silent on roof‑mounted signs and that the planning board had asked the team to study alternatives before approving the submittal.

After discussion about sight lines, potential vandalism and the benefit of clear wayfinding, the building committee made and approved a motion that the roof‑mounted identification letters be installed only on the two lower roof areas shown in the drawings. The committee directed the design team to include structural support for the signs in the bid package and to provide submittals for final review during construction. Chair Ed Brady called the voice vote and declared, “The ayes have it.”

The architect and committee members also agreed to explore limited community input on decorative details — including a possible “Middletown” motif or subtle color accent — and to carry an allowance in the bid package so the town can adopt a final sign face after bids are returned. Submittals and final shop drawings will determine whether letters are applied (painted aluminum) or cast, and any change beyond the approved design will be handled through the owner allowance process noted in the construction documents.

The committee did not change the planning board approval; instead, it used the board’s request for alternatives as the basis for further study and directed the design team to proceed with the roof‑edge option only in the two low‑roof areas identified in the presentation.