As he prepares for re-election in two months, Athens-Clarke County Mayor Kelly Girtz touted a strong local economy in his annual State of the Community address last week.
The speech, delivered to an empty City Hall boardroom, highlighted last year’s strong economic growth and low unemployment despite the “physical, emotional and economic tsunami” of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Local unemployment fell to 2.5% in December, retail spending is at an all-time high and a record $315 million in business permits was issued in 2021, Girtz said. “Put simply, businesses are expanding and people are spending here in Athens,” he said.
Specifically, Girtz cited RWDC — a company that uses a process invented by the UGA to make a vegetable-oil substitute for plastic — animal vaccine developer Boehringer Ingleheim, online furniture retailer Wayfair’s warehouse in the new General Time development on Chase Street, the Classic Center arena opening in late 2023, Creature Comforts second brewery in Boulevard’s Southern Mill development, Publix, Heyward Allen Toyota and outdoor retailer REI slated to open in Fall 2022 at the Beechwood mall. (Heyward Allen general manager Steve Middlebrooks was one of Girtz’s most vocal critics.) Spurred by six newly created tax allocation districts, further development is expected on the Eastside, in Beechwood, near Athens Tech and along Newton Bridge Road, among others a half-billion dollar redevelopment of Georgia Square Mall, he said.
Another development currently underway is the North Downtown project, which will replace Bethel Midtown Village and nearby public housing with a 1,000-unit mixed-income community. The issuance of $11 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funding, along with a zoning inclusion policy set for a commission vote in April, will spur the rehabilitation of housing in “crumbling” sites, or empty parking lots, for the 40,000 people who go to Athens to work, called Girtz. “And as this redevelopment occurs, it will include housing that is consistently affordable for the workforce that is so critical to our collective success,” he said.
Girtz also cited infrastructure investments on West Broad Street, Milledge Avenue and Tallassee Road to make them safer after a year in which car crashes killed a record 25 people. More frequent Athens transit service is also coming when local voters extend TSPLOST, the 1% sales tax on transport, in May. New electric buses have been ordered and are expected to arrive early next year.
The downtown Clayton Street project is nearing completion, new sidewalks have been installed on Barnett Shoals Road and in the Baxter/Broad area, and new sections of the North Oconee River Greenway and Firefly Trail have opened, Girtz added .
Additionally, Girtz announced that he is in talks with The ATL, Metro Atlanta’s regional transit company, about a bus connecting Athens with the Metro Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority. “If implemented, it would mean that a college student or commuter would no longer have to get behind the wheel to attend a work meeting in Atlanta or go to their mom’s for the weekend,” he said.
Girtz addressed what are likely to be two big campaign themes — crime and homelessness — and announced the creation of the Public Safety Civilian Oversight Board and mental health co-responder teams. He also said he would recommend a further increase in police officers in the upcoming district budget to bring starting salaries to $50,000 a year and reintroduced the idea of a cadet program to train Athens youth to become police officers, which the commission last year had declined.
“We’re grateful that the dramatic crime spikes that have plagued similarly sized communities statewide weren’t present here, and that crime overall has declined,” he said, while promising that spikes in aggravated assault and vehicle theft “are being addressed quickly.” will .”
As part of the fiscal 2023 budget, due to be released in late April, Girtz said he would recommend funding to employ people who are being released from prison and the landscaping and print shop certification programs already in place Supplement ACC Department of Corrections.
ACC is working with a coalition of nonprofits to develop a comprehensive plan for homeless services, Girtz said. “I expect it will include both comprehensive case management requirements to enable those individuals who have been challenged by circumstances to return to productive lives, and a commitment to rapid relocation and permanent supportive housing opportunities who are in are so tight in this situation tight housing market,” he said.
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