Newport will have Red Bike stations in place, likely before this year's Major League Baseball All-Star Game after the city commission approved an agreement with Cincy Bike Share on Monday.

Though each station costs roughly $50,000 to build and install, the City of Newport will contribute less than $30,000 from its own budget towards to the costs. It has privately raised the remainder through corporate and citizen contributions, as well as with an initial grant from Southbank Partners.

"A lot of people have asked me if this is going to be a successful program. I believe it will be. Only time will tell," said city manager Tom Fromme. "I think Newport is ideally situated across from Cincinnati and Covington and our terrain is conducive to biking and walking and the Levee is a major attraction of Northern Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati.

"If it's going to be successful, Newport has all the advantages for it to be that."

Red Bike, a program that allows riders to rent bikes by the hour and travel with them to other stations in the region or back where they came from, has proven to be popular in Cincinnati. Newport, Bellevue, and Covington have aggressively pursued the program. Covington has privately raised funds for six stations while Bellevue continues to work on its fundraising. All three cities hope to have bikes in place by the All-Star Game which will be played in Cincinnati in July.

In Newport, the four stations will be placed at the Levee (two), near Water Tower Square, and on Monmouth Street.

Commissioner Beth Fennell said that Newport on the Levee is already one of Red Bike's more popular destinations.

Fromme added that the city is also pursuing a grant of $92,000 from the Ohio Kentucky Indiana Regional Council of Governments (OKI) in case more stations are desired.

Newport commissioners also unanimously approved a $12,000 matching contribution to the Newport Independent School District's launch of a Footsteps 2 Brilliance program.

Superintendent Kelly Middleton, who was joined at the meeting on Monday by other district administrators, said that the program would be up and running in the summer after some training and professional development.

The program highlights the use of mobile gaming technology to accelerate student achievement. A presentation on the program was given at a previous commission meeting.

Because the program would be open to all children in Newport (pre-K to 3rd Grade), the contribution from the city was required since some of the students may not attend Newport Schools.

-Michael Monks, editor & publisher

Photo: Red Bike station in Cincinnati's Washington Park (RCN file)