WATCH: "A Blossoming Ode to Georgia's Musical History" mural video

Completed in January 2025, "A Blossoming Ode to Georgia’s Musical History” was painted by Florida-based muralist Steven Teller in the lobby of Akins Ford Arena in downtown Athens. 

The mural depicts several of the state’s most influential artists and accompanies the University of Georgia's Libraries' Georgia Music Collections exhibit, also on display at the arena. Learn more about the project and Teller's artistic process in this video. 

To learn more about public art in Athens-Clarke County, visit accgov.com/publicart.

Mayor's budget submitted to Commission

The Fiscal Year 2026 Mayor’s Recommended Budget for July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026 for ACCGov has been submitted to the Commission for review. 

The Commission will review the budget at a series of meetings during May and is tentatively scheduled to adopt the budget at their Regular Session on Tuesday, June 3. 

All budget documents and meeting dates are available at accgov.com/budget. Budget review meetings and public hearings will be streamed live online and available for on-demand viewing at accgov.com/videos and at youtube.com/accgov.

Leisure Services Master Plan meetings

After several months of community input and development, Athens-Clarke County Leisure Services will host community meetings in May to provide an update on the Department’s Master Plan. 

Meetings are scheduled for: 

• Monday, May 12 at noon at Heard Park & Community Center (400 McKinley Drive)
• Monday, May 12 at 6:00 PM at Heard Park & Community Center (400 McKinley Drive)
• Tuesday, May 13 at 6:00 PM at the Lyndon House Arts Center (211 Hoyt Street).

 A virtual option is also be available for these meetings. More details are available at accgov.com/activateathens.

“Building a Stronger & Smarter Community” public presentation May 8 at 6:00 PM

The community is invited to join the Athens-Clarke County Planning Department and Urban3 consultants for a public presentation related to the economic impact of development in Athens-Clarke County on Thursday, May 8 from 6:00-8:00 PM at Clarke Central High School (350 S. Milledge Avenue) in the auditorium. 

The presentation will feature Joe Minicozzi, Principal Planner and data storyteller at Urban3. Minicozzi is an urban planner imagining new ways to think about and visualize land use, urban design, and economics. Urban3's work, which has been happening alongside Future Land Use planning efforts, makes a quantifiable case for better community planning, urban design, and smarter growth. 

For more information on the session, visit accgov.com/compplan.

Public input on initial TSPLOST 2026 project proposals through May 26

The TSPLOST 2026 Advisory Committee is reviewing projects for consideration as part of a possible TSPLOST 2026 program for Athens-Clarke County. The public is invited to rate and comment on the projects through May 26 at accgov.com/tsplost2026. 

The TSPLOST Advisory Committee is scheduled to recommend a list of projects to the Mayor and Commission later this year. The Mayor and Commission can accept the list or make changes to it for inclusion in a TSPLOST 2026 program. 

Once a list of projects is approved by the Mayor and Commission for a TSPLOST 2026 program, residents will vote on the program in May 2026.

International Compost Awareness Week 

May 4-10 is International Compost Awareness Week (ICAW). This is a special year because ACCGov's own Abbie Sawyer was the winner of the ICAW 2025 poster contest. Her design was chosen from hundreds of submissions from 73 countries worldwide. 

Abbie works as the Compost Education Specialist for the Solid Waste Department, so International Compost Awareness Week is something close to her heart. 

A number of compost-related events are taking place this week, so visit accgov.com/icaw for a full rundown. 

These events are sponsored locally by:

• ACC Solid Waste Department's Waste Reduction Division
• Keep Athens-Clarke County Beautiful
• UGA Cooperative Extension
• ACC Library
• State Botanical Garden of Georgia

Recycle old tires for free May 12-17

Time for tire amnesty! There is no disposal fee for residents of Athens-Clarke County and Oglethorpe County during the Spring Tire Track Down during May 12-17, 2025. 

Bring old or abandoned tires to the Landfill (5700 Lexington Road) or CHaRM (1005 College Ave.) during normal operating hours and recycle them for free. Limit six tires per customer. 

Questions? Call 706-613-3508 or visit www.accgov.com/tires. 

This event is sponsored by the Keep Athens-Clarke County Beautiful Board of Directors and the ACC Solid Waste Department.

Kinderswim offers free swim lessons for 5 year old children in Athens-Clarke County

The Athens-Clarke County Leisure Services' Kinderswim program is a free initiative with the goal of helping all local children learn how to swim. 

The program is offered to all Athens-Clarke County 5-year-old children at no cost. Lessons are broken into three 45-minute classes a week for three weeks, for a total of nine lessons, and are available at all Leisure Services pools. 

Participants who complete at least seven of the nine lessons will receive a free pool pass for the remainder of the season. 

To find out more about Kinderswim and to register, visit accgov.com/kinderswim.

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