The Athens-Clarke County government has announced changes to its services and facility schedules in observance of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday on January 19, 2026.
A community-wide MLK Day of Service will be held at various locations, with a kick-off event scheduled from 8:30 to 9:30 AM at Lay Park Gymnasium. The first 400 registered volunteers will receive a free t-shirt, and light refreshments will be provided. Volunteer service projects hosted by over 30 organizations, agencies, cemeteries, and schools will take place from 10:00 AM to noon. Registration details are available at www.accgov.com/mlkdday.
Animal Services’ Adoption Center will be closed on January 19 and resume regular hours on January 20. Field Services will provide emergency on-call services only during the holiday, responding to incidents such as animal bites or sick animals via 911. Limited field services resume January 20 due to staff shortages.
Leisure Services facilities will also close on January 19 and reopen the following day. Parks will operate with reduced hours from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM except for Sandy Creek Park, which is closed Mondays; regular hours resume January 20.
Solid Waste Department’s residential and commercial garbage and recycling collection outside the Downtown district is postponed by one day for each customer group during the week of the holiday. Downtown collections remain unchanged. Leaf & Limb collection occurs January 20-23 in Area B. The landfill closes for the holiday but reopens January 20; CHaRM remains closed Mondays but operates as usual other days that week; the Materials Recycling Facility stays open on the holiday itself.
Transit services are suspended for the holiday and return to normal operations on January 20.
All general administrative offices—including City Hall, Courthouse, Satula Avenue Building, and Dougherty Street Governmental Building—will close for MLK Day and reopen Tuesday.
Athens-Clarke County operates as a consolidated city-county government providing unified public services through its departments such as parks management and community programs official website. This governance structure extends across Athens and Clarke County in Georgia official website.
