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Palm Bay is a city in Brevard County, Florida, United States.
The U.S. Census Bureau estimated the city's population as
100,786 on 1 July 2008; it is the most populous city in the
county. Palm Bay is a Principal City[7] of the Palm Bay–Melbourne–Titusville
Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had an estimated population
of 536,521 on 1 July 2008.
History
The Timucuan Indians, attracted to the mouth of Turkey Creek
at the Indian River by fresh water springs, fish, oysters,
and wildlife, are thought to have been the first inhabitants
in the Palm Bay area.
Palm Bay's recent history began in the 1850s when the first
European settlers built homes along Turkey Creek. Originally
referred to as Tillman, the settlement was described as a
"small strip of hammock...on each side of Turkey Creek...mostly
pine and palmetto, miserable sandy barren oak scrub, some
ponds and interspersed with sawgrass and gallberry."
By the mid-nineteenth century, there was a lumbering operation,
packing house, and orange groves, but growth was slow until
the arrival of the railroad in 1894. Goods were brought in
and produce was shipped to market faster.
Between 1910 and 1914, Tillman became the center for a land
company known as the Indian River Catholic Colony. Attempting
to grow two crops a season, farmers quickly depleted the soil,
and the colony failed. Those remaining built St. Joseph's
Church on Miller Street, the oldest building still standing.
In the 1920s, the city was renamed after the bay bordered
with palm trees known as Palm Bay located at the mouth of
Turkey Creek. A group of Tillman businessmen established the
Melbourne-Tillman Drainage District, and issued $1.5 million
worth of bonds. Starting in 1922, a 180 mile grid of 80 canals
was dug to drain 40,000 acres (160 km²) of swampy land
west of Palm Bay. The canals made it possible to control flooding
and turn marsh lands to agricultural use. Farmers planted
citrus groves and truck farms which shipped winter produce
by the Florida East Coast Railroad to northern markets. Farmers
sold timber and land to paper companies. In 1926, a fire among
the dredges and a severe hurricane economically depressed
Palm Bay. The Melbourne-Tillman Drainage District went bankrupt.
In 1959, General Development Corporation purchased and platted
extensive tracts of land in Palm Bay for its large residential
project known as Port Malabar.
The active development of the city after that point was intertwined
with GDC, who laid out and built many of the streets, sold
and built many of the city's now older homes, and built a
water treatment plant later purchased by the City after GDC
filed for bankruptcy in 1991.
In 2008 the former Port Malabar Country Club property was
revalued at $300,000, essentially "worthless" because
of arsenic in the groundwater which would require an estimated
$12 million dollars to clean up.
The city's budget for 2009 contained little if any funds
for repairing and maintaining its increasingly deteriorating
road system, much of which is left over from GDC days.[citation
needed] A bond referendum which included projected funds for
road repairs was soundly defeated by voters in May 2009.
Geography
Palm Bay is located at 27°59'52.52?N 80°40'12.03?W?
/ ?27.9979222°N 80.6700083°W? / 27.9979222; -80.6700083Coordinates:
27°59'52.52?N 80°40'12.03?W? / ?27.9979222°N 80.6700083°W?
/ 27.9979222; -80.6700083. According to the United States
Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 66.75 mi²
( km²), of which 63.65 square miles (165 km2) is land
and 3.1 square miles (8 km2) is water (4.64%).
The city is often referred to in four "quadrants":
Northwest, Northeast, Southwest, and Southeast, each contain
multiple zip codes. The most urban area is in the Northeast.
The most rural area is in the Southwest, containing an area
called The Compound. This area is home to Bombardier Recreational
Products. A small portion of Bayside Lakes lies in the area.
Palm Bay is developing its Bayfront "downtown"
to create a focus for the city.
Drainage continues to be a problem in some parts of the city,
caused primarily by the sudden unplanned transfer from General
Development Corporation to the city of the responsibility
for planning future growth and designing adequate drainage.[citation
needed] This problem has been mitigated since 2000 with the
continued design and construction work by Palm Bay City employees.[citation
needed]During the early 1990s, Palm Bay Regional Park, a soccer
and athletic complex in the Western part of the city, was
constructed. It is the largest of a citywide system of parks
and recreation areas. The Turkey Creek Sanctuary is a small
nature reserve in the northeast part of the city.
Surrounding areas
Demographics
As of the census[5] of 2000, there were 79,413 people, 30,336
households, and 21,781 families residing in the city. The
population density was 1,247.7/mi² (481.7/km²).
There were 32,902 housing units at an average density of 517.0/mi²
(199.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 77.54%
White, 14.31% African American, 0.35% Native American, 1.71%
Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 2.38% from other races, and
2.66% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race
were 8.63% of the population.
There were 30,336 households out of which 34.0% had children
under the age of 18 living with them, 55.0% were married couples
living together, 12.2% had a female householder with no husband
present, and 28.2% were non-families. 21.8% of all households
were made up of individuals and 8.3% had someone living alone
who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size
was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.03.
87.6% of all residents 25 years or older are high school
graduates. 20.9% have a Bachelor's Degree or higher.
In the city the distribution by age was: 26.5% under the
age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 29.6% from 25 to 44, 21.5%
from 45 to 64, and 14.7% who were 65 years of age or older.
The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were
95.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were
91.4 males.
In 2008, the Census Bureau ranked the city as the 25th fastest
growing large city in the United States.
Economy / Personal income
The median income for a household in the city was $36,508,
and the median income for a family was $41,636. Males had
a median income of $31,060 versus $22,203 for females. The
per capita income for the city was $16,992. About 7.1% of
families and 9.5% of the population were below the poverty
line, including 11.5% of those under age 18 and 8.1% of those
age 65 or over.
Industry
The following corporations are located in the city:
* Harris Corporation manufacturing
* Intersil
* MC Assembly
* DRS RSTA, Inc., a DRS Technologies company
* Palm Bay Community Hospital owned by Health First
* Wal-Mart is now one of the city's largest employers
Workforce
In 2007, the average size of Palm Bay's labor force was 49,935.
Of that group, 47,542 were employed and 2,393 were unemployed,
for an unemployment rate of 4.8%.
Housing
In 2008, 403 building permits were issued for 534 units.
This was down from 739 permits issued for 739 units in 2007,
which was down from 1766 permits for 1771 units in 2006.
The median home price in 2007 was $166,500.
Government
Members of the Palm Bay city government in 2003.
Palm Bay utilizes the council-manager form of government.
This system of local government combines the political leadership
of elected officials in the form of a council, with the managerial
experience of an appointed local government manager. The form
establishes a representative system where all power is concentrated
in the elected council and where the council hires a professionally
trained manager to oversee the delivery of public services.
The Mayor and City Council are the legislative branch of
city government; its members are the community's decision
makers. The Mayor is the presiding officer at the Council
Meetings and is the official head of the City for all ceremonial
occasions. Power is centralized in the elected Mayor and Council
(City Council), which approves the budget, determines the
tax rate, focuses on the community's goals, major projects,
and such long-term considerations as community growth, land
use development, capital improvement plans, capital financing,
and strategic planning.
In Palm Bay, a five-member Mayor and Council, operate in
accordance with the City Charter. Three positions created
by the Charter (Charter Officers) are appointed by and report
directly to the City Council: City Manager, City Attorney,
and City Clerk.
The City Manager is responsible for all activities related
to the operations of the City. The City Manager hires a professional
staff to assist in the administration and enforcement of the
City Charter, ordinances, resolutions, financial conditions
and all of the various procedures and policies that are required
for the City to function properly.
Zonka and Isnardi were elected in 2007 and are serving three-year
terms expiring in November 2010. Paccione and Capote were
elected in November 2008 and will serve through November 2012.
Mazziotti was reelected in 2008 without opposition.
In June 1999 Mazziotti was removed from office by then Governor
Jeb Bush when it was revealed that the mayor had previously
served two prison sentences and did not have his civil rights
restored. Mazziotti had served 27 months in a federal penitentiary
for a marijuana trafficking conviction in Pennsylvania and
a second separate conviction for smuggling amphetamines across
the Canadian border. It was also discovered that, as a 17
year old, Mazziotti drove the getaway car during a robbery.
After having his civil rights restored, he ran again for the
City Council and won. He ran unopposed for mayor in 2005 and
2008.
In 2007, the city had a taxable real estate base of $5.84
billion. This amount was the largest of any municipality in
the county.
In 2008, the police department won an award for training
patrolmen to properly collect DNA samples. At the time, they
were the only police force in the world with this program.
Water department
In 2009 the utilities department had 545 miles (877 km) of
water lines, 300 miles (480 km) of sewer lines, 2,250 fire
hydrants, and 120 full-time equivalent employees.
Education
All public schools are run by the Brevard County School Board:
The following are public elementary schools in the city:
* Christa McAuliffe Elementary School
* Columbia Elementary School
* Oakwood Academy Charter School
* Palm Bay Academy Charter School
* Palm Bay Community Charter School
* River's Edge Charter Academy
* Royal Palm Charter School
* Odyssey Charter School
* Discovery Elementary School
* John F. Turner Sr. Elementary School
* Jupiter Elementary School
* Lockmar Elementary School
* Palm Bay Elementary School
* Port Malabar Elementary School
* Riviera Elementary School
* Sunrise Elementary School
* Westside Elementary School
* Southwest Middle School
Private schools include:
* Covenant Christian School
* Cornerstone Christan School
* St. Joseph Catholic School
Public High Schools:
* Bayside High School
* Palm Bay High School which actually lies within the city
of Melbourne.
* Heritage High School
There is a Palm Bay Campus of the Brevard Community College.
Transportation
Major roads in Palm Bay include:
* Interstate 95 - This interstate highway runs through the
eastern side of Palm Bay. There are two exits in the city,
Palm Bay Road (exit 176) and Malabar Road (exit 173).
* U.S. 1 - This road serves the northeastern section of
the city. It is intersected by 4 main roads: Malabar Road,
Port Malabar Boulevard, Robert J. Conlan Boulevard and Palm
Bay Road.
* Babcock Street - This road runs through the eastern portion
of Palm Bay. It provides a direct route to Fellsmere in Indian
River County from Brevard County. Main intersections include
Palm Bay Road, Port Malabar Boulevard, Malabar Road, Waco
Boulevard, Valkaria Road, Grant Road, Eldron Boulevard, and
Cogan Drive.
* Malabar Road - This road connects U.S. 1 along the Indian
River (Florida) on the far eastern end of the city to the
far western end at the headwaters of the St. Johns River.
It is the main road to the town of Malabar, which gives its
name to the road and is largely surrounded by Palm Bay. City
Hall and Palm Bay Regional Park are located at its western
terminus. Main intersections include Interstate 95, Babcock
Street, Minton Road, San Filippo Drive, Emerson Drive, Jupiter
Boulevard and Eldron Boulevard.
* Emerson Drive, Bayside Lakes Boulevard, and Bombardier
Boulevard - All 3 roads make a large crescent-shaped roadway.
The northern terminus is Amador Avenue, the southern terminus
is a dead end in The Compound. There is a dirt road, Emerson
Drive, off Degroodt Road. The western terminus of the route
is Sappodilla Road. Main intersections include Wingham Drive,
Sapodilla Road, Degroodt Road, Eldron Boulevard, Walden Boulevard,
Waco Boulevard, Malabar Road, Minton Road, and Jupiter Boulevard.
Most roads in the area west of DeGroodt Road are unpaved. |