Trustees consider sign request

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BATH TOWNSHIP — The Bath Township Board of Trustees is considering a request that would allow the owners of The Province off-campus student apartments to install new signage and lighting at the complex, 3419 Cloveridge Court.

Thomas Genna, general manager at The Province, provided township trustees during the July 19 township meeting with detailed specifications and drawings of the proposed scope of work the owners wants to complete before Wright State University students return for fall semester in late August.

The proposal calls for one large, non-illuminated sign to be installed on the existing stone retention wall at the apartments that is located 107 feet from Kauffman Avenue. The 5-foot-high-by-16-foot-wide sign would be made of one-quarter inch Alumilite and would include The Province’s green and white logo, as well as The Province Dayton website address and phone number. The 19-inch-tall letters would be made out of outdoor exterior sign foam and painted in the logo colors, including the sides of the letters.

“The sign will be installed using standard masonry screws and hardware and spacers to keep the signage level on the stone surface,” Genna added.

In addition, a single-sided monument sign would be installed 46 feet from Zink Road and would be positioned parallel to the road. The one-quarter-inch-thick Alumilite sign would have a green and white vinyl corporate logo and 1-inch-thick foam lettering that would include The Province Dayton website address and phone number. Genna said the sign would be bolted to a wood pergola frame that would stand 8 feet high from grade and approximately 14 feet wide. The pergola frame would be mounted into two, concrete-filled brick bases as well.

“The sign itself would be 36 inches high and 120 inches wide. The overall size of the sign, pergola frame, and brick base would be 96 inches high and 168 inches wide,” said Genna. “The brick bases would have 3-foot footers too.

Genna pointed out that the owners would use low-wattage, solar-powered downlights to illuminate the signs at night. The lights would be attached directly to the top of the signs and would be directed towards the ground.

Bath Township Trustee Steve Ross told Genna that he could understand the owners’ desire to upgrade the signage at the apartment complex which was built in 2009.

“The current signs are small and very hard to see,” Ross said.

However, Ross asked Bath Township Zoning Inspector Jim Miller for his opinion concerning Genna’s request. Miller said he considered the proposed sign facing Kauffman Avenue slightly too large, and the color of the logo too bright. He suggested reducing the size of the one sign by removing the website address and the contact phone number of the apartment complex.

“In today’s world, college students have cell phones and can access that information in minutes,” Miller said. “I am not so concerned about the size of the sign that would be facing Zink Road and the website address and phone number on it, but I think that the colors of the signs could be warmer and more pleasant. These are considerations to think about.”

Genna defended the colors of the signs, underlining the fact that green and white are the colors of The Province’s corporate logo. He also noted that the website address and phone number are pertinent information and would not take up a significant space on the sign.

“I can understand why the owners are requesting a sign that large because it will set back 107 feet from the road,” Genna said. “Also, I don’t see a problem with the colors of the signs. They look attractive.”

Ross said he sympathized with the owners’ desire to include the green and white corporate logo on both signs, but he concurred with Miller regarding the size of the sign that would be facing Kauffman Avenue.

“I agreed that the sign would possibly be too large, and that the website address and phone number could be omitted from that sign because when I typed in ‘The Province’ on my cell phone just now, this information was the first to appear,” Ross said.

Bath Township Trustee Tom Pitstick told Genna that he saw no issue with the proposed lighting for both signs. However, he wanted to take the packet with the specifications and drawings and visit The Province apartment complex before making a final decision.

With summer vacations considered, Ross said the next time all three members of the township board of trustees could vote on the proposal would be during the Wednesday, Aug. 30 township meeting.

“This will also give us ample time to consider your (Genna’s) request before we vote,” said Ross.

The Bath Township Board of Trustees meetings are held the first, third, and fifth (when the month has five) Wednesday of each month, commencing at 7 p.m. All meetings are held at the township building, 1006 Yellow Springs-Fairfield Road in Fairborn. The public is welcome to attend.

Linda Collins | Fairborn Herald The Province General Manager Thomas Genna presenting signage and lighting proposal to Bath Township Trustees.
https://www.fairborndailyherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2017/07/web1_provincegm.jpgLinda Collins | Fairborn Herald The Province General Manager Thomas Genna presenting signage and lighting proposal to Bath Township Trustees.

A stone retention wall at The Province faces Kauffman Avenue.
https://www.fairborndailyherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2017/07/web1_province2.jpgA stone retention wall at The Province faces Kauffman Avenue.

By Linda Collins

Fairborn Daily Herald

Linda Collins is a freelance writer for Greene County News.

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