NEWPORT, KENTUCKY WELCOME GUIDE FOUNDED 1795 CITY OF NEWPORT 998 Monmouth Street Newport, KY 41071 www.newportky.gov Table of Contents Welcome to Newport ……………………………………………………...1 Demographics and Location …………………………………………….. 2 Government ………………………………………………………………. 3 Newport Neighborhood Groups …………………………………….. 4 Neighborhood Map ………………………………………………………. 5 History …………………………………………………………………….. 6 Newport Business Association and Trade ……………………………… 9 Community Directory ……………………………………………………. 10 Utilities and Transportation …………………………………………….. 12 Schools …………………………………………………………………….. 14 Churches ………………………………………………………………….. 15 Recreation ………………………………………………………………… 17 Resident Checklist ………………………………………………………... 18 Business Checklist ………………………………………………………... 19 Welcome to Newport Thank you for choosing to make Newport your home too! We are pleased to have you as a new resident or business owner. Newport provides an excellent mix of historic amenities and contemporary development. The City occupies a land area of 3.5 square miles and serves a population of approximately 17,000. The community’s riverfront area provides a striking view of the Cincinnati skyline and is host to premier attractions including the Newport Aquarium, Newport on the Levee, BB Riverboats, Hofbrauhaus, and the World Peace Bell, the world’s largest swinging bell. The riverfront area serves host to numerous warm weather festivals and events. Newport is also home to an historic downtown filled with eclectic businesses and the East Row neighborhood, one of Kentucky’s largest and finest historic districts. There are six National Register historic districts in Newport, as well as one local historic district and numerous individually listed landmarks. National Historic Register Districts: Cote Brilliante 290 acres, 125 buildings East Newport 1150 acres, 984 buildings Mansion Hill 500 acres, 384 buildings Monmouth Street 80 acres, 94 buildings York Street 70 acres, 56 buildings Newport Courthouse Square 110 acres, 17 buidlings The East Row Local Historic District is comprised of portions of the Mansion Hill and East Newport National Register historic districts. It has roughly 1,000 properties within its borders. Most of these are residential, with some commercial properties and several churches. The City has operated under the City Manager form of government since 1932. Legislative authority is vested in the Mayor and Board of Commissioners, while the City Manager is responsible for the day-to-day administration of the community. Newport provides a full range of services including a nationally accredited full-time professional police force; fire protection with advanced life support medic services; street maintenance and improvement; solid waste collection; twelve parks and recreational facilities; cultural events; planning and zoning; code enforcement; and business development. All of these services lead to a safe, clean, and welcoming community. 1 Demographics Population: 17,048 Caucasian 91.7% African American 5.5% Other 2.8% Median age: 33 Total Housing Units: 7,828 Data from 2000 US Census Location Newport, by its location, has the advantage of being easily accessible from every direction. Three bridges, two vehicular and one pedestrian, connect Newport to downtown Cincinnati. The City also has two bridges connecting to Covington on its western boundary. The City has excellent access to I-471 with three exits within its jurisdiction. I-471 provides connectivity to I-275, which facilitates easy transportation to all of Northern Kentucky. Newport is bound on the north by the Ohio River, to the west by the Licking River, to the east roughly by I-471, and to the south by the cities of Wilder, Southgate, and Ft. Thomas. 2 City Government City of Newport 998 Monmouth Street Newport, KY 41071 Monday – Friday 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM Elected Officials: (859) 292-3666 The City of Newport Board of Commissioners is made up of four commissioners, elected at large, and a mayor, who serves as Chairman of the Board. Regular Commission meetings and caucus meetings are held monthly according to a published schedule on Mondays at 7:00 PM in the multi-purpose room at City Hall. (See website or call for schedule and agenda.) Regular meetings are televised live on Government Access Cable Channel 16. All meetings are open to the public. Citizens may address the Board of Commissioners during a “public comments” section of the agenda. Mayor - Jerry Peluso Vice Mayor - Tom Guidugli, Jr. Commissioner – Beth Fennell Commissioner - John Hayden Commissioner – Frank Peluso Administrative Offices City Manager – Thomas Fromme: (859) 292-3666 Executive Assistant – Robin Anderson: (859) 292-3687 City Clerk – Amy Able: (859) 292-3668 Community Liaison Coordinator – Bev Holiday: (859) 655-6341 Legal – Daniel Braun: (859) 292-3666 Development Services – Greg Tulley: (859) 292-3637 Provides Building, Zoning, and Certificate of Appropriateness (COA) Permits. COA required for exterior renovations of structures within the historic district. Call to confirm. Planning & Zoning – (859) 292-3637 Code Enforcement – Brian Steffen: (859) 292-3637 Report code enforcement violations and blight via telephone or email: [email protected] . Historic Preservation – Scott Clark: (859) 655-6347 3 Community Services – Doug Roell: (859) 292-3686 Public Works – (859) 292-3686 Recreation – (859) 292-3686 Finance Department – C.R. Wirthlin, CFO: (859) 292-3660 Handles Taxes, Licensing, Billing. This office on the 2nd floor also accepts Passport Applications and receives correspondence for Human Resources and Risk Management. Fire/EMS Department – Chief Gary Auffart: (859) 292-3647 The FD also provides Child Car Safety Seat Program. Police Department – Chief Tom Collins: (859) 292-3625 Administration – (859) 292-3634 Accident/police reports are available at the Newport Police Department between the hours of 8:00 AM and 4:30 PM, Monday through Friday. Allow two working days for copies. Not available on weekends or major holidays. Copies of reports are $5. Emergency – 911 Investigation–(859) 292-3627 Patrol – (859) 292-3629 Records – (859) 292-3634 Traffic – (859) 292-3680 Newport Neighborhoods There are nine neighborhoods located throughout the City with active members who help in reviewing issues of interest to their own community/neighborhood and share those concerns with the Board of Commissioners. Several of the neighborhood groups meet on a regular basis. To subscribe to an established neighborhood list-serve please use the following: Clifton http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Clifton_of_newport (website to submit request) East Row – Includes Gateway and Mansion Hill [email protected] (email subscription request) West Side – which is often joined by members of the Two Rivers I, Two Rivers II, and Buena Vista neighborhoods http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WestsideCitizenCoalition/ (website to submit request) 4 Newport Neighborhood Map 5 History – (Section text excerpted from www.northern-kentucky.com/city-of- newport.htm with minor modifications.) Established in 1795 by James Taylor, Newport is named in honor of Admiral Christopher Newport. Admiral Newport had led the first English settlement at Jamestown, which is in Taylor’s native state of Virginia. The land had actually been platted twenty years prior by his brother Hubbard Taylor, who at the time was surveying it for his father. In 1793 it is said that James Taylor laid out the workings for a road to Lexington (U.S. 27) and in 1795 he subdivided 150 acres of land into lots. Newport’s development received a major boost in 1803, when the army agreed to build a military post there. The army purchased five acres of land for $1 from James Taylor. The land was located at the mouth of the Licking River. The army post was later to be named the Newport Barracks. By 1848, the year of James Taylor’s death, Newport’s population had grown to around 1,000 people. The residents had a couple of churches and several factories that manufactured rope and woolen products. Newport's military post was the center of activity during the Civil War and recruiters from both the Union and the Confederate Armies recruited there. It is also said that Jefferson Davis, General Robert E. Lee and Union General Ulysses S. Grant served tours of duty at the Newport Barracks. The 1860’s brought Newport mass transit in the form of mule driven streetcars. The Newport Street Railway, which operated routes on York Street and Washington Street later merged into what became the Green Line bus system and into present day Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky. The turn of the century brought electricity to Newport and a numbering system that caused the renaming of many Newport streets. It was also in that time that Newport native John Thompson invented the Thompson Machine Gun (“Tommy Gun”) that became known nationwide for its use by gangsters. The gangsters themselves would become a part of Newport’s history during the 1920’s. A flood in 1937 left much of Newport under water, and would go down in history as Newport’s worst natural disaster to date. The floodwall that is part of today’s landscape was completed in 1948, as a result of the flood of 1937. The 1940’s through 1980’s brought turbulent times for Newport as gambling halls and Vegas style nightclubs operated in the city. Efforts to clean up the city in 6 response to public outcry led to vast political and social change. Those reform efforts have rewarded Newport with its current stature of today. Today’s Newport is a hot bed of development and redevelopment.