HOOVER, ALABAMA


'Hoover' is a city in Jefferson and Shelby counties in north central Alabama, in the United States. A suburb of Birmingham, the population of the city was 62,742 as of the 2000 census and was estimated to be 68,707 in 2006. Hoover is now one of the three primary cities in the Birmingham-Hoover-Cullman Combined Statistical Area, consisting of the Birmingham-Hoover metropolitan statistical area and the Cullman micropolitan area. Hoover’s neighborhoods and planned communities are located along the rolling foothills of the Appalachian Mountains.
Hoover is home to the Riverchase Galleria, one of the largest shopping centers in the Southeast. It is one of the largest mixed-use centers in the US (about 2 million square feet (180,000 m²)) including shopping, hotel, and office space. The shopping complex anchors are JCPenney, 2 Belk stores, Macy's, and Sears.[4]
The Birmingham Barons minor league baseball team, which traces its history to 1885, plays its home games at the 10,800 seat Regions Park.

Contents
History
Geography
Government
Economy
Top employers in the city (2006)
Top providers of sales tax (2006)
Public Safety
Demographics
Communities
Education
Media
Points of interest
References
External links

History


The City of Hoover was incorporated in 1967. It was named after William H. Hoover (a local insurance company owner). The area had been known as the Hoover community since the 1930s and was mostly a residential community. In the late 1970s and early 1980s the city was still mostly residential with a small City Hall that included space for the police department. The annexation of the Riverchase business community provided a base of large office buildings and employers to the city. A significant change to the city occurred when Interstate I-459 was created with a major interchange with Interstate I-65 within the city. The most dramatic change occurred in 1986 when the Riverchase Galleria shopping-hotel-office complex opened. This significantly increased the tax revenue for the city. It was the catalyst to bring new residents and businesses to the city. The city has grown extremely fast with annexations and new developments. The city now provides services from many large city facilities including a Municipal Center, a Library, and a Public Safety Center. Residents and businesses are drawn to the city because of the rolling hills and nice residential areas, schools, city services, shopping, and business communities.

Geography


Hoover is located at (33.386435, -86.804938).
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 113.1 km² (43.65 mi²). 111.7 km² (43.13 mi²) of it is land and 1.3 km² (0.51 mi²) of it (1.17%) is water.

Government


The municipal government has operated under the Mayor-Council form of government since incorporation. The Mayor and City Council are elected on a non-partisan basis to concurrent four-year terms of office which begin on October 1st of election year. Policy-making and legislative authority is vested in the City Council, which consists of seven "at-large" elected members (prior to 2004, the council consisted of five at-large members.) The city council is responsible for, among other things, considering local resolutions and ordinances, adopting an annual budget, and appointing members to local boards and committees. The Mayor is responsible for carrying out and enforcing the city's policies and ordinances.
'Current Mayor'
Tony Petelos

'Current City Council Membership'
Council Place Representative Position
1 Trey D. Lott Councilor
2 Gene Smith Councilor
3 Mari Morrison Councilor
4 Gary M. Ivey Council President
5 Jack Wright Councilor
6 Brian Skelton Councilor
7 Mike G. Natter Councilor

Economy


The Riverchase Galleria shopping-hotel-office complex provides a large amount of tax money to the city and provides the location for many retail, hotel, and office workers. The Riverchase business community provides the location for many large businesses. Other office parks and buildings are located across Hoover. The Central Business District includes the US 31, US 280, and Highway 150 locations. Interstate highways I-65 and I-459 intersect in the city.
Top employers in the city (2006)


★ Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Alabama (company headquarters) - 3,000

★ Hoover Board of Education - 1,773

★ Regions Financial (operations center) - 1,765

★ AT&T (data center) - 1,143

★ City of Hoover - 745

★ Wal-Mart (two stores) - 650

★ BE&K Engineering - 302
Source: City of Hoover/The Birmingham News
Top providers of sales tax (2006)


★ Wal-Mart

★ Parisian

★ Sam's Club

★ Costco

★ Belk

★ Macy's

★ Best Buy

★ Home Depot

★ Publix
Source: City of Hoover/The Birmingham News

Public Safety


In 2006, the police force of the city of Hoover began using 104 Chevrolet police Tahoes. With this change, the Hoover Police Department became the largest law enforcement fleet in the nation that runs on E85, a fuel that is 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline.[5] The change was recognized by President George W. Bush, who visited the city in September 2006 to see the fleet and fueling facility.
Hoover operates its own enhanced 911 emergency call center which has eight operator positions and is staffed 24/7.
Hoover provides traffic, severe weather, disaster information, and details on special events on low-power AM radio (1610 kHz).[6]

Demographics


As of the census of 2000, there were 62,742 people, 25,191 households, and 17,406 families residing in the city. The population density was 561.7/km² (1,454.6/mi²). There were 27,150 housing units at an average density of 243.0/km² (629.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 87.66% White, 6.77% Black or African American, 0.16% Native American, 2.89% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.40% from other races, and 1.09% from two or more races. 3.79% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 25,191 households out of which 33.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.4% were married couples living together, 7.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.9% were non-families. 25.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.00.
In the city the population was spread out with 24.8% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 32.6% from 25 to 44, 23.8% from 45 to 64, and 10.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 95.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $61,982, and the median income for a family was $79,912. Males had a median income of $55,660 versus $34,836 for females. The per capita income for the city was $33,361. About 2.1% of families and 3.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.7% of those under age 18 and 3.9% of those age 65 or over.

Communities



★ Bluff Park

★ Caldwell Mill

★ Green Valley

★ Inverness

★ Patton Chapel

★ Riverchase

★ Rocky Ridge

★ Russell Springs

★ Shades Mountain

Education


Hoover has ten elementary schools, three middle schools, and two high schools, Spain Park High School and Hoover High School. The 2005-2006 school year saw 2,451 students enrolled in Hoover High School[7], 1,400 in Spain Park High School[8], with a total of 11,433 students in the Hoover City School system.[9]
Hoover High School is the largest high school in Alabama by area. The Hoover High Bucs Football Team was the number one ranked football team in the United States for a time in 2006 and is the focus of the reality television program ''Two-A-Days,'' airing on MTV in 2006 and 2007.
Berry Middle School, which served as the city's first high school before the present Hoover High was constructed, was closed after the 2005-2006 academic year, with students moved to a new Berry Middle School constructed near the site of Spain Park High School. A poll of residents recently favored selling the school, possibly to the independent Shades Mountain Christian School. Simmons Middle School and Bumpus Middle School are the city's other middle schools, whose students move on to Hoover High.

Media


Hoover has one television station ABC 33/40 with main studios within its city limits. The metro area has TV broadcasting stations that serve the (DMA) as defined by Nielsen Media Research and provide broadcasting for ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, PBS, The CW, MyNetworkTV, and ION TV networks. Charter Communications is the primary provider of cable television service. DirecTV and Dish Network also provide both local and national channels to Hoover residents.
No radio stations operate from Hoover though numerous stations from the Birmingham market serve the city. (WENN-FM is licensed to Hoover but its studio is located in Birmingham.)
Three newspapers serve Hoover: ''The Birmingham News,'' the state's primary daily newspaper, ''The Hoover Gazette,'' a weekly newspaper which began publishing in June 2006, and the ''Over the Mountain Journal,'' a weekly newspaper that began publishing in 1991. The portion of Hoover which lies in Shelby County is also served by the ''Shelby County Reporter,'' a weekly newspaper based in Columbiana, the county seat. During the 1990s, the ''Hoover Outlook'' served the city but is no longer in publication.
:''See also List of television stations in Alabama''
:''See also List of radio stations in Alabama''

Points of interest



★ Aldridge Gardens

★ Moss Rock Preserve

★ Patton Creek Shopping Center

★ Regions Park ''(formerly Hoover Metropolitan Stadium)''

★ Riverchase Galleria

★ Ross Bridge Golf Resort and Spa

References


1. A History of Hoover Vadie Honea
2. Annual Estimates of the Population of Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2005
3. 33.3864°N 86.8047°W Jonathan Stott
4. Riverchase Galleria website
5. Kent, Dawn. (February 23, 2006) "Hoover's ethanol SUVs catch researchers' eye." ''Birmingham News''.
6. City of Hoover website
7.
Hoover High School

8.
Spain Park High School

9. Hoover City Schools website

External links



★ City of Hoover

★ Hoover Alabama Chamber of Commerce

★ Hoover Police Department

★ Hoover City Schools

★ Hoover Library

★ Birmingham Barons

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