Palm Bay

Palm Bay is a city in Brevard County, Florida, United States. The city's population was 119,760 at the 2020 United States Census. It is the most populous city in the county and the largest by land mass. The Ais people, attracted to the mouth of Turkey Creek at the Indian River by freshwater springs, fish, oysters, and wildlife, are thought to have been the first inhabitants in the Palm Bay area. The earliest place names for this area on early maps of the late 1700s were Turkey Creek, Elbow Creek and Crane Creek. The first prominent European-American settler was John Tillman in the late 1870s. In the 1920s, the city was renamed as Palm Bay, after the bay bordered with sabal palm trees. In October 1994, William Bryan Cruse, Jr. shot and killed six people, including two college students, at a local shopping center. Convicted and sentenced to death in Florida's death row in 2009, Cruse died on November 29, 2009. For three consecutive years between 2003 and 2005, Larry Lawton was a suspected robber in Palm Bay's largest robbery in the city's history. He was later charged in 1996 with the crime after fingerprint evidence linked him to the crime. In 2003, a $500,000 gold and gems stolen from a jewelry store at the time was the largest jewelry theft in the history of Palm Bay. In 2019, it controlled 100 square miles (260 km²) of land.

History

Palm Bay is the primary city name, but also Grant Valkaria, Grant Vlkria, Melbourne are acceptable city names or spellings. The official name is City of Palm Bay. Palm Bay is a city in Florida on the Indian River. It is located at the mouth of Turkey Creek. The city was founded in the late 1870s by John Tillman. In the 1920s, a group of Tillman businessmen established the Melbourne-Tillman Drainage District, and issued $1.5 million worth of bonds. In 1959, General Development Corporation purchased and platted extensive tracts of land in Palm Bay for a large residential project known as Port Malabar. In 2000, Palm Bay was finalist for the All-America City Award. In 2008, the city was named in an article from US News & World Report as the second "Drunkest City in the US" behind Reno, Nevada. In 2009, William Bryan Cruse, Jr. shot and killed six people, including two college students and two police officers, at a local shopping center. He also wounded ten other people. Cruse died on Florida's death row in 2009. In 2019, the County Government controlled 100 square miles (260 km²) of land. The public works department considers roads in the city unserviceable that would cost an estimated $12 million to clean up. This was considered an essentially "worthless" valuation because arsenic had been found in the groundwater and remediation and was found to be uneconomical. The voters have consistently defeated measures to raise money to raise the arsenic valuation because the city considers it un-serviceable in such a poor condition.

Geography

The city is often referred to in four quadrants: Northwest, Northeast, Southwest, and Southeast. Fred Poppe Regional Park (formerly Palm Bay Regional Park) 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. The most rural area is in Southwest, containing an area called The Compound. The city has a total area of 101.4 miles (101.4 mi), of which 97.86 miles (97.86 mi) is land and 3.1 square miles (8.1 km²), or 4.56% is water. It is located near the St. Johns River; Sawgrass Lake; Lake Hell 'n Blazes; Osceola County; Grant-Valkaria; Malabar; Indian River Lagoon; West Melbourne; and Indian River County. It has a high homicide rate (39%) and a low crime rate (16%) in the city and surrounding areas. It was the site of the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history, with more than 1,000 people killed in the line of duty in 2009. It also has the second highest homicide rate in the country (39%). It is home to one of the nation's largest airports, the Melbourne International Airport, which has a population of more than 2,000,000. In 2010, the city had the highest murder rate in Florida (39%), and the second-highest in the United States (38%).

Demographics

As of 2010, there were 45,220 households, out of which 12.7% were vacant. In 2000, the city's population was spread out, with 26.5% under the age of 18. The median home price in 2017 was $172,200. English spoken as a first language accounted for 88.55% of all residents, while 11.44% spoke other languages as their mother tongue. Spanish speakers made up 7.45% of the population, while French came up as the third most spoken language, which made up 0.93%. German was spoken by 0.92%, and Arabic was at fourth, with 0.53%. The city's median income in 2000 was $36,508, and the median income for a family was $41,636. The per capita income for the city was $16,992. Out of the total people living in poverty, 11.5%. were under the Age of 18 and 8.1% were 65 or older. 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 city has a population of 1,816, with a median age of 37. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 91.4 males. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.03. In the city, the average household income was $31,060.

Economy

Forbes magazine ranked the city the 11th most innovative in the nation in 2010. In 2007, the average size of Palm Bay's labor force was 49,935. The 2015 Tough Mudder 12.5 miles (20.1 km) race, drew 9,875 visitors to the area including 6,835 participants. The Brevard County Tourist Development Council spent $40,000 promoting and staging the event. The city has some frequently visited recreational locations, such as the area known as the compound and the Turkey Creek area. It also has a riverfront area that the city government is attempting to further develop and focus on. In 2010, the city had 6,571 unemployed people, the highest rate in the county. In 2013, the unemployment rate had risen to 12.7% and was the highest in Brevard county. It has a population of 47,542, with 2,393 unemployed, for an unemployment rate of 4.8%. The city's economy is based on manufacturing, with 3,400 employees on its Palm Bay campus on Palm Bay Road. It is also home to a hospital, L3Harris Technologies, Intersil, and a number of other businesses. In 2009, Palm Bay was ranked the 14th most livable city in the U.S. by CNN.com. It was ranked 11th in 2010 by Forbes magazine, with a ranking of 11th out of the nation's 50 largest cities. It had a population in 2007 of 49, 935, with an average of 2.393 unemployed people.

Government

Palm Bay uses a council-manager form of government. The Mayor and City Council are the legislative branch of city government. 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. In 2011, the annual salary of the city manager was $168,000. In 2007, the city had a taxable real estate base of $5.84 billion. In 2009 the utilities department had 545 miles (877 km) of water lines, 300 miles (480km) of sewer lines, 2,250 fire hydrants, and 120 full-time equivalent employees. 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. The city opened a data base to the public, that tracks city income and expenditures. In 2010, theCity employed 913 full- time equivalent workers. The office of Mayor receives an annual Salary of $0.20 per capita while council members receive $ 0.10 per capita. 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. This amount was the largest of any municipality in the county in the year of 2007. The mayor is the presiding officer at the Council Meetings and is the official head of theCity for all ceremonial occasions.

Public safety

Palm Bay Fire Rescue consists of about a hundred firefighters and six stations. Most firefighters work 24 hour shifts followed by 48 hours off. The city was ranked 263 out of 400 in crime statistics, with #1 being the worst. In 2011, Skype was used 32 times to obtain warrants promptly. In 2010, average compensation exceeded $68,000 annually. A 2010 retiree, a 47-year-old with a former salary of $75,540, was receiving an $86,580 pension annually. In May 2008 (Mothers Day Fires) a wild fire was started that burned a total of almost 26,000 acres (11,000 ha)40 square miles (100 km²), 30 homes were destroyed and 140 were damaged. In 2013, the city concluded an agreement with the county to furnish fire and emergency medical aid to whichever governmental unit was closer to the problem: a Palm Bay unit or a Brevard County unit. The Palm Bay Police Department is authorized 172 sworn officers, in addition to numerous civilian and support personnel. The police agency is broken into various sections, such as the Uniform Services Division and Support Services Division, and the Criminal Investigations Division. There are three police districts within the city. Police officers are assigned to each district. In 2006, they became the highest paid fire department in the county. A 2009 survey indicated that the city was rated #1 in the state for murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, and motor vehicle theft. The department responded to over 12,000 calls in 2011.

Education

All public schools are run by the Brevard County School Board. Public Elementary Schools: Public Middle School: Southwest Middle School. Public High Schools: Bayside High School and Heritage High School. Palm Bay High School is located just north of Palm Bay, within the city of Melbourne, but serves Palm Bay and Malabar. Public Middle schools: Public Elementary and Public Middle Schools. public High schools: Southwest and Palm Bay high schools. public elementary and public middle schools: public Elementary and public Middle Schools: public Middle School and public high school: public elementary, public middle and high school. public high schools:Public Elementary, public Middle and high schools; public high. schools:public elementary,public middle,public high, public high,public elementary and private high. public middle, private high, private. schools, public elementary/private high,Public middle/high, public secondary/private, public primary/private. public secondary, public junior/senior high and public secondary. public primary, public senior high.Public elementary/junior high, Public middle/juniors/seniors, Public high. high/high secondary, Public elementary/middle/junitive, Public Middle/middle high. Public high/senitive high/middle, Public Elementary/Middle Middle/Middle High, Public High/High High. public. elementary/high high/Middle high/Junior high/Senior high.public middle/High/Juniors/Senior High. Public elementary and middle high. elementary, middle high/High high.

Transportation

There are about 851 miles (1,370 km) of city-maintained highways in Palm Bay. Most roads in the area west of DeGroodt Road are unpaved. In 2012, Palm Bay had the lowest walkability of any city in the United States with a population over 100,000 people. In 2018, The city's voters approved a bond referendum to pave the city's failing roadways. The city is served by interchanges 176 (Palm Bay Road), 173 (Malabar Road), and 166 (St. Johns Heritage Parkway). The U.S. Coast Guard is based in the city of Palm Bay, which is located in the Florida Panhandle. It is also located in Brevard County, where it is part of the Indian River County line. The Florida Turnpike is also in the Palm Bay area, and runs through the center of the city. There are no airports in the region, but there are a number of non-directional airports in Melbourne, Daytona Beach, Orlando, and Fort Lauderdale. There is no airport in the state of Florida, but one in Florida's St. Johns County, near the state line with Florida. The state road portion of Babcock Street, which runs from Melbourne to Brevard, is in the northeastern portion of the town. The only main intersections are Interstate 95 and County Road 507. In 2013, the public works director reported that most roads in south Palm Bay were "failed roads," for lack of maintenance.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Palm Bay, Brevard County, Florida = 72.9. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 60. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 60. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Palm Bay = 6.6 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 119,760 individuals with a median age of 38 age the population grows by 34.04% in Palm Bay, Brevard County, Florida population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 1,385.82 residents per square mile of area (535.07/km²). There are average 2.61 people per household in the 40,661 households with an average household income of $45,441 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 11.90% of the available work force and has dropped -5.05% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 18.00%. The number of physicians in Palm Bay per 100,000 population = 210.4.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Palm Bay = 48.9 inches and the annual snowfall = 0 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 106. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 238. 90 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 51 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 30, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Palm Bay, Brevard County, Florida which are owned by the occupant = 69.00%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 19 years with median home cost = $80,780 and home appreciation of -25.62%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $11.04 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $4,585 per student. There are 16.2 students for each teacher in the school, 796 students for each Librarian and 418 students for each Counselor. 9.29% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 11.76% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 4.75% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).