Melbourne, Florida - Internet Service Melbourne Fl

Melbourne /'m?lb?rn/ is a city in Brevard County, Florida, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 76,068. The municipal area is the second largest by size and by population in the county. Melbourne is a principal city of the Palm Bay - Melbourne - Titusville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. In 1969 the city was expanded by merging with nearby Eau Gallie.

History

Early human occupation

Evidence for the presence of Paleo-Indians in the Melbourne area during the late Pleistocene epoch was uncovered during the 1920s. C. P. Singleton, a Harvard University zoologist, discovered the bones of a mammoth (Mammuthus columbi) on his property along Crane Creek, 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from Melbourne, and brought in Amherst College paleontologist Frederick B. Loomis to excavate the skeleton. Loomis found a second elephant, with a "large rough flint instrument" among fragments of the elephant's ribs. Loomis found in the same stratum mammoth, mastodon, horse, ground sloth, tapir, peccary, camel, and saber-tooth cat bones, all extinct in Florida since the end of the Pleistocene 10,000 years ago. At a nearby site a human rib and charcoal were found in association with Mylodon, Megalonyx, and Chlamytherium (ground sloth) teeth. A finely worked spear point found with these items may have been displaced from a later stratum. In 1925 attention shifted to the Melbourne golf course. A crushed human skull with finger, arm, and leg bones was found in association with a horse tooth. A piece of ivory that appeared to have been modified by humans was found at the bottom of the stratum containing bones. Other finds included a spear point near a mastodon bone and a turtle-back scraper and blade found with bear, camel, mastodon, horse, and tapir bones. Similar human remains, Pleistocene animals and Paleo-Indian artifacts were found in Vero Beach, 30 miles (48 km) south of Melbourne, and similar Paleo-Indian artifacts were found at Lake Helen Blazes, 10 miles (16 km) southwest of Melbourne.

Settlement

After the Civil War, pioneer families arrived, and Melbourne was founded in 1867 by former slaves.

The first settlers were Richard W. Goode, his father John Goode, Cornthwaite John Hector, Captain Peter Wright, Balaam Allen, Wright Brothers, and Thomas Mason. The city, formerly called "Crane Creek", was named Melbourne in honor of its first postmaster, Cornthwaite John Hector, an Englishman who had spent much of his life in Melbourne, Australia. He is buried in the Melbourne Cemetery, along with many early residents in the area. The first school in Melbourne was built in 1883 and is now owned by Florida Tech and is on permanent exhibit on the campus. By 1885, the town had 70 people. The Greater Allen Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church was founded in 1885 and is still active.

In the late 1890s, the Brownlie-Maxwell Funeral Home opened and it is still in business. The oldest black-owned business in the county is Tucker's Cut-Rate plumbing. It opened in 1934.

In the early 1900s, houses were often built in the frame vernacular style.

In 1919, a fire destroyed most of downtown. At the time, it was rebuilt west of the train depot.

In late 1942 the Naval Air Station Melbourne was established as a site to train newly commissioned Navy and Marine pilots for World War II. The program ran until 1946, and the land that was used for that program makes up most of what is currently the Melbourne International Airport. In 1969, the cities of Eau Gallie and Melbourne voted to merge, forming modern-day Melbourne.

Postwar

In the 1950s, Babcock Street was extended north to intersect with US 1. The Melbourne Shopping Center was constructed on Babcock, the area's first strip mall. Consumers were sufficiently attracted to this new mall, that the traditional downtown, off New Haven, suffered. Urban blight there was successfully attacked there in the 1980s.

A board was created by the legislature to spend a 10% tax on electric bills. This was used by the Melbourne Civic Improvement Board to build the Melbourne Auditorium, the first library and fire station, and various parks. The board was dissolved when Melbourne was merged with Eau Gallie in 1969.

Geography

Melbourne is located approximately 60 miles (97 km) southeast of Orlando on the Space Coast, along Interstate 95. It is approximately midway between Jacksonville and Miami. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 39.6 square miles (102.5 km²), of which 33.9 square miles (87.7 km²) is land and 5.7 square miles (14.8 km²) (14.42%) is water.

The east-west street named Brevard Drive was historically the "center" of town; with addresses called "north" and "south" of this street. The north-south Babcock Street provided the same centerline for "east" and "west" directions.

Melbourne Beachside has a small presence on the South Beaches barrier island. It is often confused with Melbourne Beach, a separate political entity.

Climate

Melbourne, Florida has a humid subtropical climate or Köppen climate classification Cfa - typical of the Gulf and South Atlantic states. Although Melbourne is classified as a Humid Subtropical climate (8 or more months with a mean temperature of 50 F/10 C or higher), Melbourne is located far enough southward that it lies close to the broad transition zone from subtropical to tropical climates (all months have a mean temperature of 64.4 F/18 C or higher). Melbourne averages 2900 hours of sunshine annually. Melbourne has the typical two season climate commonly found in humid subtropical climates - a hot and wet season (late May through October) and the warm and dry season (November through April).

Melbourne averages 49 inches (1,200 mm) of rainfall annually, much of it coming in convective thunderstorms in the late May to early October time period. The record rainfall occurred on August 20, 2008, when Tropical Storm Fay dropped 18.21 inches (46.3 cm). Melbourne can sometimes have moderate to severe drought conditions from late fall through spring, with brush fires occurring and water restrictions put in place. The National Weather Service located at Melbourne International Airport averages 2.9 days per year with frost, although several years might pass without a frost in the city of Melbourne or at the ocean beaches. According to the National Weather Service, there is no record of snow or snow flurries in the city of Melbourne in that last 150 years.

A Dew point of 91 °F (33 °C) was observed at 2 p.m. on July 12, 1987 in Melbourne, Florida. This is the highest dew point ever observed in the United States.

Flora

Tropical flora typical of more southerly locations may be grown in the Melbourne area (coconut palms, royal palms, Christmas palms, and bananas), but may be damaged or killed when subjected to infrequent light freezes.

Environment

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has ordered the city to reduce pollution of the Indian River Lagoon, which it borders; about 80% of the city's landmass drains in the direction of the lagoon. The city must reduce run-off by 44,000 pounds (20,000 kg) of nitrogen and 13,000 pounds (5,900 kg) of phosphorus. The city responded by banning the use of fertilizer before flood and storm warnings.

Demographics

As of 2010, there were 38,955 households out of which 12.6% were vacant. As of 2000, 24.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.0% were married couples living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.7% were non-families. 32.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 2.82.

In 2000, the city the population was spread out with 20.7% under the age of 18, 9.3% from 18 to 24, 28.4% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 19.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 94.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.1 males.

The per capita income for the city was $19,175. In 2000, the median income for a household in the city was $34,571, and the median income for a family was $42,760. Males had a median income of $32,242 versus $22,419 for females. In Melbourne, about 8.6% of families and 11.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.4% of those under age 18 and 8.5% of those age 65 or over.

Languages

As of 2000, 90.39% of residents spoke English as their first language, while 4.69% spoke Spanish, 0.84% spoke French, 0.73% spoke German, and 0.55% spoke Arabic as their mother tongue. In total, 9.60% of the total population spoke languages other than English.

Government

The Melbourne City Council consists of the mayor and six district council members. Melbourne uses a Council-Manager form of government.

City Officials

• Kathy Meehan, Mayor - Elected on November 2012, term expires November 2016
• Greg Jones, Vice Mayor & District 6 Council Member - Elected on November 2010, term expires November 2014
• Mike Nowlin, District 1 Council Member - Re-elected on November 2012, term expires November 2016
• Betty Moore, District 2 Council Member - Elected on November 2012, term expires November 2014
• Yvonne Minus, District 3 Council Member - Appointed on January 16, 2014, term expires November 2014
• John Thomas, District 4 Council Member - Elected on November 2010, term expires November 2014
• Molly Tasker, District 5 Council Member - Re-Elected on November 2012, term expires November 2016

The following are appointed by the council:

• Paul R. Gougelman, III, City Attorney
• Mike McNees, City Manager
• Cathleen A. Wysor, City Clerk

Melbourne city officials created the Babcock Street Redevelopment District in 1998 to stimulate new development along Babcock Street from U.S. 1 south to U.S. 192. A 218-unit apartment complex built in 2005 is most recent step in an effort to revitalize this area.

Melbourne also is attempting to revitalize the downtown Eau Gallie Riverfront district.

A $165.3 million budget was passed for the 2012-13 fiscal year.

In 2007, the city had a taxable real estate base of $4.96 billion.

A 2011 study rated the general pension fund for city employees highly at 190%. Less favorably rated were the pension plans for fire and police employees.

In 2009, the city had 870 full-time employees and 176 part-time employees.

Public safety

In 2010, the city employed 170 police, 140 of which were unionized. For administration, the city is divided into ten areas that require patrol.

A 2009 survey indicated that the city was ranked 84 out of 400 in crime statistics, with #1 being the worst. Crimes included murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, and motor vehicle theft.

A 2009 Halloween street party sponsored by a downtown restaurant attracted an estimated 8,000-10,000 people. This overwhelmed the downtown area. Street parties were curtailed until public safety issues were addressed.

Economy

Industry

Melbourne International Airport is located near the center of the city. Melbourne contains defense and technology companies with a high concentration of high-tech workers. The following corporations have operations in Melbourne:

• DRS Technologies employed 910 workers in 2009. Another reference says 1,800 workers in 2009, 1,300 in 2010.
• General Electric Transportation Systems and GE Energy Management
• Harris Corporation (including corporate headquarters)
• Northrop Grumman employed 1,640 workers in 2009.
• Rockwell Collins employed 1,430 in 2009.
• Embraer completed a 89,000 square feet (8,300 m²) hangar and administrative office at the Melbourne Airport in February 2011.
• Ares Defense, who created the Ares Shrike 5.56 modular belt-fed machine gun platform, is headquartered in Melbourne.
• LiveTV has its headquarters in Melbourne.

Workforce

In 2007, the average size of Melbourne's labor force was 39,391. Of that group, 37,708 were employed and 1,683 were unemployed, for an unemployment rate of 4.3%.

Housing

In 2008, 259 building permits were issued for 263 units. There were 209 permits issued for 320 units in 2007, which was down from 329 permits for 512 units in 2006.

The median home price in 2007 was $215,000.

In May 2005, the Melbourne-Titusville-Palm Bay area was among the top 20 in home price appreciation from 2003 to 2004.

Competitiveness

In 2009, Forbes ranked the area 18th out of 100 Metropolitan Statistical Areas and first out of 8 metros in Florida for affordable housing, and short commute times, among others.

Retail and commerce

Melbourne has two downtown business districts, a result of the merger of Eau Gallie into Melbourne:

• Downtown Eau Gallie Arts District
• Historic Downtown Melbourne - among other retail outlets, this has 26 eating and drinking establishments within a four block extent.

Healthcare

The area has four hospitals, day care for senior citizens, hospice, walk-in, and urgent care facilities. There is Holmes Regional Medical Center, Wuesthoff Medical Center Melbourne Campus, and Kindred Hospital which does not accept emergency patients. A new Viera hospital was opened in May 2011.

Tourism

The city has two golf courses. There were 96,477 rounds played in 2009-10. Revenues were $2,207,502. Rounds and revenue have been dropping since 2006. in 2011, the city raised rates for residents to the same as for non-residents, $27 per round or $522 annual fee.

A monthly "Friday Fest" has been attended by 3,000 people and supported by 55 vendors.

Arts and culture

Annual cultural events

• The Melbourne Area Pilots Association hosts a General Aviation Day at Melbourne International Airport in September
• The Annual IndiaFest and India Day are held in February and in August
• The Melbourne Arts Festival, held in April, draws from 50,000-60,000 visitors
• The Melbourne Main Street Fall Festival was expected to have an attendance of 30,000 in October, over two days.
• The Melbourne Oktoberfest has been held each October since 1977 most recently this was held at the Wickham Park Pavilion
• Christian churches have been producing a "Bible on Parade" since 1990, each participating church portrays a book of the Bible, a spokesperson said in 2011, that it may be the only one of its kind in America

Museums and points of interest

Historic sites

There are three places on the National Register of Historic Places:

• Florida Power and Light Company Ice Plant (1927) located at 1604 South Harbor City Boulevard
• William H. Gleason House at 1736 Pineapple Avenue
• James Wadsworth Rossetter House (c.1860s) at 1320 Highland Avenue

The following places also are historic:

• Henegar Center (1919) located at 625 East New Haven Avenue
• Holy Trinity Episcopal Church (1886) at 50 West Strawbridge Avenue
• Melbourne Bone Bed at Crane Creek
• Nannie Lee House - Strawberry Mansion (1905) at 1218 East New Haven Avenue
• Roesch House (c.1901) at 1320 Highland Avenue
• Winchester Symphony House (1890s) at 1500 Highland Avenue

Museums

• Foosaner Art Museum at 1463 Highland Avenue
• Historic Rossetter House Museum at 1320 Highland Avenue
• Liberty Bell Memorial Museum at 1601 Hickory Street

Performing arts

Groups

• Brevard Symphony Orchestra
• City of Melbourne Pipes and Drums

Buildings

• Henegar Center for the Arts
• Maxwell C. King Center for the Performing Arts
• Melbourne Auditorium located on Hibiscus Boulevard

Sports

Melbourne was an official host city for the 1996 Olympic Torch Relay.

There are co-ed adult and youth sports programs in flag football and ultimate frisbee.

Parks, recreation, and attractions

The city of Melbourne contains over 554.72 acres (2.2 km²) of city park land, including 17 community parks, 13 neighborhood parks, and five smaller city parks.

• Brevard Zoo
• Wickham Park

Education

88.5% of all residents 25 years or older are high school graduates. 25.7% have a Bachelor's Degree or higher.

Public schools are run by the Brevard County School Board.

Colleges and universities

• Eastern Florida State College
• Florida Institute of Technology
• Florida State University Satellite Campus
• University of Central Florida Regional Campus
• Keiser University - Melbourne
• Everest University
• Webster University - Patrick Air Force Base Campus

Elementary schools

• Roy Allen Elementary
• Ascension Catholic School
• Dr. W. J. Creel Elementary
• Croton Elementary
• Harbor City Elementary
• Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy Lower School (Preschool - 6)
• Longleaf Elementary
• Meadowlane Primary
• Meadowlane Intermediate
• New Covenant Christian School
• Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School
• Quest Elementary
• Sabal Elementary
• Sherwood Elementary
• Suntree Elementary
• University Park Elementary

Middle schools

• Ascension Catholic School
• DeLaura Middle School
• Central Middle School
• Florida Air Academy
• Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy Upper School
• Lyndon Baines Johnson Middle School
• New Covenant Christian School
• Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School
• Stone Middle School
• Southwest Middle School

High schools

• Eau Gallie High School
• Melbourne High School
• Palm Bay High School
• Satellite High School
• Viera High School
• West Shore Junior - Senior High School

• Brevard Christian School
• Florida Air Academy
• Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy Upper School
• Melbourne Central Catholic High School
• New Covenant Christian School

Adult education

• Palm Bay High Adult/Community Education
• South Area Adult Center

Media

Print

• Florida Today - Space Coast and Central Florida
• The Crimson - The Florida Institute of Technology student-run newspaper

Radio

Television

Melbourne is part of the Orlando television market. Cable is provided by Bright House Networks.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Major roads

The city is responsible for about 300 miles (480 km) of road. It would like to resurface 5% (15 miles (24 km)) of that each year. It was able to afford to pave half of that in 2013.

Roads in the older part of the city, in what is today the southeast, are oriented toward the north-south road, Babcock Street, with compass directions measured east and west from that road. In the same area, the east-west road, Brevard Drive, separates compass directions north and south.

All are at least four-lane roads, unless otherwise designated.

• U.S. 1 - Harbor City Boulevard is the local street name, and it runs parallel to the Indian River on the eastern side of the city. The highway is six-lanes through much of the city, from Robert J. Conlan Boulevard in nearby Palm Bay to the south to SR 404 to the north. This road allows access to the beaches over three causeways: Pineda, Eau Gallie, and Melbourne Causeway.
• U.S. Route 192 - Locally named New Haven Avenue and Strawbridge Avenue (downtown), it passes through commercial, entertainment, and retail areas of Melbourne. It serves as a route to Kissimmee and the tourist corridor of Orlando to the west, and the town of Indialantic to the east via the Melbourne Causeway.
• Interstate 95 - This highway is six-lanes throughout its run in Melbourne. There are two exits: Exit 180 (U.S. Route 192) and Exit 183 (Eau Gallie Boulevard). Another interchange has been constructed near mile 188 to accommodate the expansion of the Pineda Causeway. Additionally, Exit 191 (Wickham Road) serves the Melbourne area, it is not marked as she .
• SR A1A - This road runs along the beaches and provides access to other areas of Brevard County.
• SR 507 - Babcock Street
• SR 404 - Pineda Causeway
• SR 508 - NASA Boulevard
• SR 518 - Eau Gallie Boulevard
• CR 509 - Wickham/Minton Road. Up to 38,680 cars use Wickham Road weekdays. The average is 33,850.
• CR 511 - John Rodes Boulevard/Aurora Road

Rail

The Union Cypress Company Railroad ran east to west through south Melbourne in the early 1900s. The mill town of Hopkins was near the present-day streets of Mill Street and Main Street.

The Florida East Coast Railway runs through Melbourne, staying west of U.S. 1 through its entire run.

Bus

• Space Coast Area Transit operates a public bus service in Melbourne and vicinity. The city subsidizes two routes internal to the city so Melbourne residents ride for free.
• Greyhound Bus Lines has a bus station in Melbourne

Airport

Melbourne International Airport (IATA: MLB, ICAO: KMLB, FAA LID: MLB) is located about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) northwest of the city's original business district. The airport has daily flights to Atlanta (via Delta and Delta Connection), and Charlotte (via US Airways Express).

Utilities

Power is provided by Florida Power and Light. Gas is provided by Florida City Gas.

Cable TV service is provided by Bright House Networks.

Traditional landline telephone service is mainly provided by AT&T, while some cable customers use Bright House Networks digital telephone (VOIP) service.

Internet service providers in Melbourne range from various 56 kbit/s providers, AT&T (formerly BellSouth) FastAccess DSL, and Bright House Networks cable internet, which uses Road Runner as their ISP. Fiber optic networks are installed in the city mainly for business purposes and have not been integrated for home use.

The Water Department not only provides water for the city, but for surrounding towns and cities for a premium, including Melbourne Beach, Indialantic, Indian Harbour Beach, Satellite Beach, Palm Shores, Melbourne Village, and a portion of Brevard County. Wholesale water service is provided to West Melbourne. The total distribution area is about 100 square miles (259 km²) Two water treatment plants take water from Lake Washington and deep wells, providing 25,000,000 US gallons (95,000,000 litres; 21,000,000 imperial gallons) of drinking water per day. This water is treated with chloramine and ozone. In 2003, water rates were $2.27/1,000 US gallons (3,785 l) sewer $4.47/1,000 US gallons (3,785 l).

Solid waste removal and recycling is provided by Solid Waste Management, part of the city of Melbourne's Environmental Community Outreach (ECO) Division.

Namesakes

Melbourne Square, in the city of Melbourne, is located on US 192 west of downtown, is the largest shopping area in Brevard County. In the 1960s, the motto of Melbourne was, "Crossroads to the Universe".

Notable people

• Brian Atkinson, Duke University cross country runner, All-ACC
• Thomas Barbour, author and naturalist, lived in Eau Gallie as a boy
• Bruce Bochy, Manager of the World Champion San Francisco Giants Major League Baseball team.
• Robbie Carrico, Season 7 contestant on American Idol
• Bobby Dall, bass player for the band Poison, resides in Melbourne
• C. J. Hobgood, 2001 ASP World champion Professional Surfer, born in Melbourne
• Cecil Fielder, professional baseball player
• Prince Fielder, professional baseball player, son of Cecil Fielder, went to Eau Gallie High School
• William Henry Gleason, founded and lived in Eau Gallie
• Damien Hobgood, Professional Surfer born in Melbourne
• Darrell Hammond, comedian and actor, resided in Melbourne 1953-1975
• Devon Hughes, professional wrestler, better known as Brother Devon from Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
• Vicky Hurst, professional golfer; graduated from Holy Trinity
• Zora Neale Hurston, author, lived in Eau Gallie in the 1920s and 1950s
• Billy Lane, owner of Choppers, Inc. and builder of custom motorcycles
• Jeff Lett, bass player of Cartel; born in Melbourne
• Melbourne Man, human who lived in Melbourne in 10,000 BC
• Daniel Moore, Duke cross country runner
• Jim Morrison, lead singer for The Doors; born in Melbourne
• Henry Mucci, US Army colonel who led the Great Raid in World War II to free the Bataan survivors; retired to Melbourne
• Bill Nelson, U.S. Senator from Florida, graduated from Melbourne High School in 1960
• Reggie Nelson, safety for NFL's Cincinnati Bengals
• Jamie Noble, professional wrestler
• Hans von Ohain, one of the first people to develop the jet engine; retired and died in Melbourne
• Stanford Parris, former U.S. Congressman from Virginia, was a primary resident of Melbourne after leaving Congress.
• Will Perdue, NBA forward and center (Chicago Bulls), sportscaster, born in Melbourne
• Toni Pressley professional women's soccer player, graduated from West Shore High School in 2008
• Tom Rapp, singer-songwriter, leader of 60s/70s band Pearls Before Swine, lived here from childhood
• Taylor Rowan, American football placekicker, lived here before receiving a football scholarship at Western Illinois University
• Melana Scantlin, actress
• Stefanie Scott, teenage actress born in Melbourne, stars on the Disney show A.N.T. Farm
• Preston Skinner, NAIA nationals qualifier, cross country runner for West Virginia University Institute of Technology, born and raised in Melbourne
• Lee Stange, professional baseball pitcher
• Jason Steele, State Representative 1980-82
• George Trofimoff, a former U.S. Army Colonel and convicted spy for the Soviet Union, lived in Melbourne between 1994 and 2000
• Kate Upton, model, 2012 Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue cover girl
• Tim Wakefield, baseball pitcher (Boston Red Sox), born in Melbourne
• Matt Walters, defensive end for New York Jets
• Leonard Weaver, NFL fullback
• Larry Wolfe, Major League Baseball infielder
• Matt Zimmerman, International tattoo wizard, known cake eater, and self proclaimed "World's Greatest Carnie".

Notes

References

• Purdy, Barbara A. (2008). Florida's People During the Last Ice Age. University Press of Florida. ISBN 978-0-8130-3204-7

External links

• Official website

Interesting Informations

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