Bradenton

Bradenton is a city in and the county seat of Manatee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city's population is 55,698. A settlement established by Maroons or escaped slaves named Angola existed in Bradenton's present area starting in the late 1700s and ending in 1821. The town was originally spelled "Braidentown" when it applied for a post office on May 9, 1878. The first bridge across Wares Creek was built in 1886. Bradenton was incorporated on May 19, 1903, with voting against incorporating it against the vote of 34 in favor and voting against it 34 times between 1901 and 1903. The city is named after Dr. Joseph Braden, whose nearby fort-like house was a refuge for early settlers during the Seminole Wars. Braden owned a sugar plantation in the area, covering 1,100 acres (450 ha) and being worked by slave labor. He died in 1915, and his home was bought in 1924 with the intent of remodeling it. At one point he owned over 300,000 acres of land in Manatees County. He was known for having many animals and a large amount of foliage at his home. The county seat was designated after DeSoto County was formed from eastern Manatese County in 1881. It was incorporated in 1902 and named after Bradenton in 1903. It is the county's first post office and a county courthouse was built at the Courthouse Square in 1890.

History

Bradenton is the primary city name, but also Braden River are acceptable city names or spellings. A settlement established by Maroons or escaped slaves named Angola existed in Bradenton's present area starting in the late 1700s and ending in 1821. Josiah Gates along with his family and eight slaves moved to the area where present-day Bradenton exists in January 1842. The town was originally spelled "Braidentown," as a spelling error was made when it applied for a post office on May 9, 1878. The following year, Bradenton was designated the county seat after DeSoto County, as the new county seat, was formed. The first bridge across W. Creek was built in 1886. The county courthouse was built at the new Courthouse Square in 1890. Bradenton is named after Dr. Joseph Braden, whose nearby fort-like house was a refuge for early settlers during the Seminole Wars. At one point he owned over 300,000 acres of land in Manatee County and was known for having many animals and a large amount of foliage at his home. He died in 1915, and his home was bought in 1924 with the intent of remodeling it. However it was not completed, and the home was demolished at some point in theLate 1920s. The city was incorporated on May 19, 1903, with voting in favor of incorporating and 34 voting against it. It was named for Dr. Braden who owned a sugar plantation in the area, covering 1,100 acres (450 ha) and being worked by slave labor. The community is estimated to have had 600750 residents in it.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Bradenton has a total area of 14.44 square miles (37.4 km²) The city is located on US 41 between Tampa and Sarasota. The area is surrounded by waterways, both fresh and saltwater. Along the Gulf of Mexico and into Tampa Bay are over 20 miles (32 km) of Florida beaches, many of which are shaded by Australian pines. Bradenton borders a tropical climate, with only one month (January) having a mean temperature below 64 °F (18 °C), which is the threshold for a tropicalclimate. The city has a typical Central Florida humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by hot, humid summers and warm winters. The tallest building in Bradenton is the Bradenton Financial Center, 12 stories high, with its blue-green windows. The next tallest is the brand new Manatee County Judicial Center with nine floors, located next to the historic courthouse. Other major downtown buildings include the Manateed County Government building and the headquarters of the School Board of Manatees County. The City of Bradenton was founded in 1855. The first mayor was William "Bill" McAlister, who was elected in 1856. The current mayor is Bradenton's current mayor, Rick Scott, who took office in 2010. The mayor is a former mayor of Tampa, Florida, and served in the Florida House of Representatives from 1987 to 1991.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 49,504 people, 21,379 households, and 12,720 families residing in the city. The population density was 4,088.5 inhabitants per square mile (1,578.3/km²) The racial makeup of the city was 78.14% White, 15.11% African American, 0.79% Asian,0.29% Native American, 3.91% from other races, and 1.71% from two or more races. The city is part of the North PortSarasotaBradenton metropolitan statistical area, which had a 2018 estimated population of 821,573. The median income for a household in theCity was $34,902, and the median income. for a family was $42,366. About 9.7% of families and 13.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.3% of those under age 18 and 8.2% ofThose age 65 or over. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was2.85. The per capita income for theCity of Bradenton was $20,133. For every 100 females, there are 90.3 males. For each 100 females age 18 or over, there there are 85.9 males. There were 24,887 housing units at an average density of 2,055.4 per squaremile (793.6/ km²).

Economy

Tropicana Products was founded in Bradenton in 1947 by Anthony T. Rossi, an Italian immigrant. By 2004 it had over 8,000 employees and marketed its products throughout the United States. PepsiCo, Inc., acquired it in 1998. In 2003, Pepsi relocated Tropicana's corporate headquarters to Chicago after it acquired Gatorade and consolidated its non-carbonated beverage businesses. However, their juice production facilities remain inBradenton. Champs Sports, a nationwide sports apparel chain, is headquartered in Bradentin. The department store chain Bealls is also headquartered in the city.Bradenton was significantly affected by the United US housing market correction, as reported by CNN. Real estate has shown a recovery since 2012, as home prices stabilize and inventory subsides. The city has a population of around 4,000. The city is home to the University of North Carolina at Bradenton, which has a campus of more than 1,000 buildings. It is also the home of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which is based in the town of Bradenton. The town has one of the largest concentrations of high school football teams in the state. It also has a large number of college football teams, many of which have been founded in the past few decades. It has a number of colleges, including North Carolina State, North Carolina, and North Carolina-Chapel Hill. It was the site of the World War II-era Battle of the Bulge, which was fought in the early 1950s.

Transportation

Bradenton is served by Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport. The Sunshine Skyway Bridge is a 5.5-mile (8.9 km) cross-bay bridge that rises 250 feet (76 m) above the bay at its highest point. Manatee County Area Transit (MCAT) buses serve Bradenton along with the cities/communities of Palmetto, Ellenton, Anna Maria, Holmes Beach, Bradenton Beach, Longboat Key, Tallevast and Samoset. Free trolleys run northsouth on Anna Maria Island, as well as to/from various points on the mainland. Amtrak charter buses run through downtown Bradenton outside the courthouse to Tampa Union Station and Venice, with transfers to Sarasota and St. Petersburg. The old Skyway bridge has been converted into a fishing pier extending into Tampa Bay from both sides of the bay.

Government

The city is governed by a city council with five members. Each of the members are residents of one of the five wards. The mayor is elected at-large for a four-year term, as are the five council members. The city council selects the city's vice mayor for a two-year terms. The council also selects the mayor's successor for a three-yearterm. The vice mayor is chosen from among the five members of the city council. The president of the council is elected for a one-year, four-month term. The deputy mayor is selected from the council's five members for a year-and-a-half-long term, and the mayor for two years and a half-year-old. The councillor for the ward where the vice mayor lives is elected from the ward's resident population for a six-month-long, two-term term. It is the first time the city has had a female mayor in more than 30 years. The current mayor is the daughter of a former mayor, who was elected in 1994. The last time the mayor was elected was in 1998, when the city was in its third year of cityhood.

Education

The State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota's (SCF) main campus is located in Bayshore Gardens, Florida. The SCF Collegiate School has a campus on the SCF Bradenton campus.Manatee County Public Schools operates area public schools. Schools in the city limits include: Manatees High School, and Sarasota High School. Manateez High School is a private school with an enrollment of about 1,000 students. The school district also operates a middle school and a high school in Sarasota. It is the only school district in the state to offer an alternative education program to students from low-income families. The district also offers an alternative high school program for students with disabilities. It also operates an adult education program for the first time in its history. It was founded in the 1970s and has a enrollment of more than 1,500 students. It has an average enrollment of around 2,000. It operates a number of alternative schools, including a middle and high school, and an alternative college program for high school students. In addition, the school district operates a daycare center, which has a population of about 100. It offers a variety of programs for children and adults, including pre-school, elementary, and middle school, as well as an after-school program for teens and adults. The public school system also operates several charter schools in the area, including one in Bradenton, Florida, which serves more than 2,200 students.

Culture

Bradenton is home to the Village of the Arts, a renovated neighborhood south of downtown where special zoning laws allow residents to live and work in their homes. The South Florida Museum, Bishop Planetarium and Parker Manatee Aquarium offer a glimpse of Florida history, a star and multimedia show, and ongoing lecture and film series. ArtCenter Manatees features three galleries, five classrooms, an Artists' Market gift shop and an art library featuring over 3,000 art volumes. Realize Bradenton works with the above-listed cultural partners to promote Downtown Bradenton as a destination for the arts. The town is the subject of the We the Kings song "This Is Our Town"; they, as well as the band Have Gun, Will Travel originate from Bradenton. It also produces events in the downtown area with a focus on arts and culture like the annual Bradenton Blues Festival, ArtSlam public art festival and several smaller public art and music events throughout the year.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Bradenton, Manatee County, Florida = 64.3. 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 40. 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 91. 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 Bradenton = 6.4 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 55,698 individuals with a median age of 40.5 age the population grows by 8.81% in Bradenton, Manatee County, Florida population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 3,884.64 residents per square mile of area (1,499.90/km²). There are average 2.27 people per household in the 23,061 households with an average household income of $42,644 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 12.50% of the available work force and has dropped -7.71% 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 12.08%. The number of physicians in Bradenton per 100,000 population = 195.9.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Bradenton = 54.6 inches and the annual snowfall = 0 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 104. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 249. 91 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 49.8 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 27, 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 Bradenton, Manatee County, Florida which are owned by the occupant = 50.03%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 28 years with median home cost = $90,490 and home appreciation of -11.16%. 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 $10.56 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 $4,678 per student. There are 17 students for each teacher in the school, 741 students for each Librarian and 427 students for each Counselor. 5.28% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 13.26% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 7.48% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).