Cedar Creek
CIVIC ASSOCIATION
ATHENS, GEORGIA
Upcoming Volunteer Opportunity
May 15-17,
UGA Stegeman Coliseum,
Feed My Starving Children Food Packing Event
Contact: Rob Gorman via CedarCreekCaAthens@gmail.com
2026 Calendar
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April 27 to March 15- Early Voting - General Primary Election.
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May 15-17- Feed My Starving Children Food Packing Event
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May 16, 8AM-1PM, Cedar Creek Community Yard Sale - See Note Below
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May 19- Election Day: General Primary Election - See Article Below
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May 21 - CCCA Board Meeting, 7PM, 195 Dunwoody Dr.
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June 16 - Runoff for ACC Mayor (if needed)
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June 18 - CCCA Board Meeting, 7PM, 195 Dunwoody Dr. (Tentative)
In this Newsletter
CCCA Membership Update
Thanks to the many of you that have already renewed your CCCA Membership. Our membership currently stands at 204 out of 655 homes in the neighborhood. We would like to exceed our 2025 membership level of 260 members. Renewals continue to trickle in, but we need many more. If you have not already done so, please renew now, and talk to your neighbors about joining as well. Click on the JOIN/PAY button above to choose your payment options, and please remember to fill out the membership form, including your email address. Wishing to pay by check, make it out to "CCCA" and mail to (or drop off at) "CCCA Treasurer, 190 Mockingbird Circle, Athens, GA 30605". Remember to include your home address so we know which residence to credit the membership. Providing your email allows you to stay connected with our community by receiving our monthly email updates.
Follow-up on ongoing issues
4190 Lexington Road - After the discussion at the April 21 Mayor & Commissioners work session, the developer subsequently paused the project. This means it will not come up for Mayor & Commissioners discussion again until June or as late as August. If you have concerns about this development keep an eye on the Agenda for the June Mayor & Commissioners meetings.
155 Whit Davis Rd - At the April 21 Mayor & Commissioners work session, the developer withdrew this project, citing loss of a major funding source.
450 Gaines School Road - The grass on this property has been cut but we have heard nothing further from the developer. Let us know if you see a zoning notice posted, sometimes it takes a while before we notice the signs.
ATT fiber optic cable placement --- If you also have issues with this project, contact Jacob Banks, Field Supervisor for ANSCO, the contractor at 470-475-4037 or via email at jacob.banks@anscollc.com. Alternatively you can contact Steve McDaniel the utility inspector for Clarke County at 762-400-6703 or via email at Steve.McDaniel@accgov.com. Just remember that it takes a little time for replanted grass to fill in the disturbed areas - especially with so little rain!
What we are keeping an eye on...
Safe Streets and Roads for All Initiative ... Athens-Clarke County has partnered with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) program to explore ways of reducing roadway fatalities and serious injuries on county streets. The program focuses on making streets safer for everyone – people walking and biking, people in cars, transit riders, children, older adults, and individuals with mobility challenges. See https://www.accgov.com/safestreets
The SS4A Action Plan for Clarke County, the first step in hopefully bringing in federal funds for improving county streets, was recently approved by the Mayor & Commissioners. We are excited that additional federal funds could accelerate many of the projects proposed in TSPLOST 2026. In particular, the SS4A Action Plan for Clarke County identifies Gaines School Road as a location needing safety upgrades, some of which we identified in our Eastside Athens Complete Streets TSPLOST 2026 project. Of course, federal funding is always uncertain, but we will explore whether this program can be used to shorten the timeline to Gaines School Road safety upgrades.
To help you remember your voting choices, click the button below to download a blank form that you can print then fill out with your candidate choices.
Local Option Sale Tax approval... You will be asked to approve the one percent (1%) Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales and Use Tax or TSPLOST for 2026. A yes vote does not raise current sales taxes, just extends the additional 1% tax on sales to fund needed transportation projects over the next 5-6 years. TSPLOST funds can only be used for transportation-related projects including much needed infrastructure maintenance and repairs. We support a vote of YES since if this tax passes, the Athens Eastside will benefit directly from three projects to improve its major streets and intersections as well as support maintenance on many of our roads, sidewalks, public use trails and intersections.
May 19, 2026 General Primary/Non-Partisan Election
"The ballot is stronger than the bullet" - Abraham Lincoln
“There’s no such thing as a vote that doesn’t matter. It all matters.”— Barack Obama
“Casting a ballot isn't just something you do for yourself — it's for our collective future." - Oprah Winfrey
Key information sites
Voter checklist - https://www.accgov.com/9332/Voter-Checklist
Dates and location for advanced voting - https://www.accgov.com/advancevoting
Rules and application for absentee voting - https://www.accgov.com/245/Absentee-Voting
Voter identification requirements - https://www.accgov.com/247/Identification
Check or get your precinct card at Ga My Voter Page - https://mvp.sos.ga.gov/s/
ACC Elections office at https://www.accgov.com/160/Elections-Department.
Athens Politics Nerd - https://athenspoliticsnerd.com/voter-info/candidates/
Ballotpedia.org - https://ballotpedia.org/Georgia_elections,_2026
The Red&Black - https://www.redandblack.com/election/
Note: scroll down this site to see interviews with local candidates.
Notes from the CC Volunteer Landscape Crew
The Landscape Crew finished spreading the mulch onto the Cedar Circle trails on Saturday, April 25. Thanks to Crew members Hanke van der Wel, Marcus Fechheimer, Rob Gorman, Jack Dominey, Pete Nichols, and Kenneth Portier.
In May, the Landscape Crew will prepare sites to install Bee and Butterfly Sanctuary Gardens in select Cedar Creek green spaces. Our partner in this endeavor, Shoal Creek Sanctuary, is donating native pollinator plant seedlings most of which will only be ready in the fall. The Crew will plant one garden site in May and the other two in the fall. Cedar Creek is the first Athens community to install these gardens, but hopefully not the last. The ultimate goal is to increase local populations of bees and butterflies which are in decline nationally.
To find out the when and where the Landscape Crew meets, contact Rob Gorman (rdfgorman@gmail.com). We need volunteers!!
A search of the internet shows conflicting opinions on whether English ivy growing on trees can damage the tree and lead to its death. It is true that ivy can harm its host tree over time if you don't prune it. Some claim that the problem actually isn't with the ivy that climbs up the tree trunk but with the clusters of ivy on top of the tree – these, over time, will prevent the tree from getting the light it needs. In Georgia, the ivy grows so fast that keeping up with pruning is difficult. We suggest it is safer to periodically remove the ivy.
Other ivy species in Georgia you should be aware of include:
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Boston Ivy: A climbing vine often found on buildings and walls that can also cause damage.
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Japanese Ivy: A hardy vine that thrives in shaded areas and has glossy leaves.
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Ground Ivy (Creeping Charlie): A low-growing plant with creeping stems, often found in lawns.
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Creeping Fig (Ficus pumila): A small-leaved vine that can cling to surfaces and is popular in landscaping.
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Virginia Creeper: A fast-growing vine with five leaflets that can resemble ivy.
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Poison Ivy: Not a true ivy, but often mistaken for one; it has three leaflets and can cause skin irritation.
In short, ivy
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Competes with trees for nutrients, water, and if not pruned, from light - potentially weakening the tree and stunting growth,
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Blocks sunlight from reaching the tree's leaves, hindering photosynthesis,
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Adds weight to the tree, increasing the risk of branch breakage,
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Harbors pests and diseases that may affect the tree's health, and,
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May cause physical damage by wrapping around and constricting tree trunks.
An older, mature tree may be able to handle a little ivy growth but it is best to simply keep ivy away from trees. Rather than pulling it down, simply cut the ivy near the base of the tree, remove a short section of ivy bark, then allow the ivy remaining on the tree to die and fall off. This avoids damaging the tree further by pulling the clinging ivy from the tree bark.
English ivy (Hedera helix) is classified as an exotic and invasive species in Georgia. Homeowners are encouraged to not plant ivy and to remove it where possible. Ivy can be very hard to remove from your yard. Most people who have been successful at this say the steps are:
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Cut the ivy back to ground level using pruning shears, saw, weed whipper and/or mower.
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Rake and dispose of cuttings in a bag to prevent regrowth.
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Dig up as many roots as you can with a garden spade, hoe, or forest adze, and bag the removed roots as well.
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Mulch heavily to discourage regrowth.
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Repeat steps 1-4 every couple of months until you no longer see ivy sprouts.
Note that chemical herbicides typically don't work well with ivy because the leaves have a heavy wax coating that sheds the chemical, preventing it from getting into the leaves, stems, and root where herbicides need to access to be effective. Ivy can regrow from small root segments that the herbicides may not reach. Multiple applications may be needed to be effective.
Q: Does English ivy growing on trees damage the tree? Should I remove English ivy from the tree?
Q and A: Ask the CCCA Board a question and we will try to find an answer.
The CCCA newsletter is printed locally in Athens by Jack Jones of Duplicating Systems Inc. Thanks.
President’s Letter, May 2026
We are deep in graduation season now, so congratulations to all the newly minted high school, tech school, college, and university graduates in Cedar Creek. And to the parents of those grads, we know you're rightfully proud. I know many folks like myself are also looking forward to the relative peace and quiet that UGA's summer semester brings to Athens. It's a great time to enjoy some of the entertainment opportunities the city offers.
It's also becoming peak vacation season. I want to urge everyone who's traveling this summer to reach out to your neighbors. Let them know when you'll be away. We can help each other by watching each others' homes, retrieving and holding mail, and serving as a local emergency contact. And if you need a house- or a pet sitter, there are qualified folks here in the neighborhood.
The Board is continuing our beautification and improvement efforts in the common spaces. The mulch is fully spread on the Cedar Circle trail. Watch for some new additions to the Ponderosa spaces. We're still planning the pollinator garden beds, but our advisor has recommended planting in the fall, so we're holding off on that for the moment.
And we have only days left before the May 19 election. This is really important! See elsewhere in this newsletter for details.
-Jack Dominey
Cedar Creek Community Yard Sale - May 16
The Cedar Creek Community Yard sale will be held from 8AM to 1PM on May 16th. We currently have 24 yard sales registered. Click on the link "Map of Yard Sale Sites" to see which of your Cedar Creek neighbors will be hosting a yard sale.
There is still time to sign up to have your yard sale promoted by the CCCA. Click the link to "Register Here" to have your event included in our ads, emails, and notifications. The address for your yard sale will be included on the event map. The map will also be accessible to visitors via a QR code posted on signs at the four Cedar Creek entrances.
Don't miss out! There is no charge to participate. You only have to live in the Cedar Creek subdivision and host your yard sale on Saturday, May 16th, from 8AM to 1PM. Questions about the Community Yard Sale should be directed to the CCCA Email at CedarCreekCaAthens@gmail.com.