WATCH: Interview with Amanda Burk

Athens artist Amanda Burk's 100-foot "Georgia Flora" mural on the Oconee Rivers Greenway was completed earlier this summer. The public art project was funded by SPLOST and facilitated by the Athens-Clarke County Leisure Services' Arts Division.

Burk’s design was chosen by a blind community selection panel out of 25 applicants who responded to a nationwide call for proposals. The mural features a variety of flowers commonly associated with Georgia. The mural is located on a wall under the Greenway along the entrance/exit ramps of Inner Loop 10 and Lexington Road.

Watch this video interview with Burk discussing the project and showcasing the mural. The video is also available on the accgov channel on Roku devices.

Learn more about local public art projects at www.accgov.com/publicart.

2025 Roadway Paving

The ACCGov Transportation & Public Works’ Pavement Maintenance Program treats miles of ACCGov roadways each year, usually during the warmer summer and fall months.

Treatments can involve preventive maintenance such as crack or chip sealing or patching to extend the life of a road or even a full repaving.

Treatment types are based on the road’s physical Pavement Condition Index (PCI) that is collected every four years and updated after treatments. The PCI of a roadway can span from 0 (very poor) to 100 (excellent).

The paving webpage at accgov.com/paving includes a list of roads scheduled for treatments in 2025, an interactive map of the 2025 scheduled roads and all ACC roads' PCIs, and videos showcasing the various paving treatment types.

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Tips for Reducing Mosquitoes & Avoiding Their Bites

Check Animal Services for Strays

As a reminder, the ACCGov Animal Services Department keeps a list of animals that have been brought in on a stray hold.

If you or someone you know has recently had a pet go missing, visit accgov.com/straypets to see if they might be at the Animal Shelter.

Contact the Animal Services Department directly at 706-613-3540 with any questions.

Heat Wave Tips

It's hot! Athens-Clarke County has been under several heat advisories this summer and will continue to experience high temperatures through August (and perhaps beyond). Here are some heat safety tips from Ready.gov:

Never leave people or pets in a closed car on a warm day.
If air conditioning is not available in your home, find a cooling option.
Do not rely on a fan as your primary cooling device. Fans create air flow and a false sense of comfort, but do not reduce body temperature or prevent heat-related illnesses.
Take cool showers or baths.
Wear loose, lightweight, light-colored clothing.
Use your oven less to help reduce the temperature in your home.
If you’re outside, find shade. Wear a hat wide enough to protect your face.
Drink plenty of fluids to stay hydrated.
Avoid high-energy activities or work outdoors, during midday heat, if possible.
Check on family members, older adults and neighbors.
Watch for heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heat stroke.
Consider pet safety. If they are outside, make sure they have plenty of cool water and access to comfortable shade. Asphalt and dark pavement can be very hot to your pet’s feet.

For more resources around extreme heat from Ready.gov, visit www.ready.gov/heat.

When Athens-Clarke County is experiencing severe weather of any kind throughout the year, visit www.accgov.com/weather for resources and other information about responses.

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Lay Park & Heard Park celebrate 50 years

Both the Lay and Heard Park Community Centers celebrated 50 years of operation this June, having served the Athens community since 1975 as part of the Model Cities Program.

Lay Park, originally called Central Athens Community Center, was renamed Thomas N. Lay Park in 1990 to honor the Superintendent of Recreation for the then City of Athens Parks and Recreation Department.

Heard Park, originally called East Athens Community Park, was renamed Heard Park in 2021 to honor Aaron Heard, a former supervisor of the park and lifelong Athens area resident.

In celebration of the 50th anniversaries, ACCGov invites Athens-area artists to submit mural designs that will be commercially reproduced on panels for the exterior of the community centers. The deadline to apply is Friday, September 19 at 5:00 PM.

Full details and submission forms are available online at www.accgov.com/publicart for the murals.

Learn more about Heard Park at www.accgov.com/heard and Lay Park at www.accgov.com/lay.

Mixtape E-Newsletter is "Best in Category"

Congratulations to, well, us! The 2025 National Association of County Information Officers (NACIO) recently recognized the ACCGov Mixtape in its national 2025 Awards of Excellence as the “Best in Category” for e-newsletters.

Thank you, readers, for your continued support and subscriptions!

If you enjoy Mixtape, encourage friends, family, or neighbors to sign up for e-mail or SMS text versions or read past editions at accgov.com/mixtape.

The ACCGov Mixtape is distributed monthly by the ACCGov Communications Department, accgov.com/communications, 706-613-3795