Monday’s Athens City Council meeting briefly went to the dogs and beavers as both concerns were aired by citizens.

D.W. Daws told the council he didn’t understand why the beavers were still in a ditch near his Brownsferry Street home. He chided the city for being unresponsive to his request to eradicate the dam builders.

“We pay our taxes, and we don’t get nothing for it,” he said. “If you talk about eyesores, you need to open your eyes.”

It’s not the first time Daws has voiced his concern about the beaver issue. He previously told the council he’s concerned about safety for drivers if the road floods and mosquitoes breeding in standing water.

Public Works Director James Rich told Daws his employees had cleaned out any part of the ditch on the public right-of-way but nothing beyond that.

“We try to get to it the best we can with the equipment we’ve got,” he told Daws, adding he would meet Daws at the ditch the next time workers went out there to assess the issue.

Councilman Joseph Cannon said he’s concerned about how city streets are being affected by standing water. He said water saturation could cause the breakdown of road base over time.

“I had someone from the state tell me it’s not good for (the dams) to be there,” he said.

Athens resident Marie McLin then asked the council about existing leash laws because she’s concerned about dogs running loose in the city. When asked what specific part of town she was referring to, she told the council, “Where the beavers are.”

“Three dogs attacked my husband,” she said. “The neighbors across the street had to come out and stop them. They’ve got collars on, so they belong to someone.”

When asked why she didn’t call the police about the matter, McLin told the council she knows how people can be attached to their pets and she didn’t want someone to lose their dog.

The council also again heard requests to ban the practice of tethering or chaining dogs in the city limits.

Other business

In other business, the council:

• Held a public hearing and then tabled a decision to find a structure at 703 Westview St. unsafe and a public nuisance;

• Held public hearings on two alcohol-related issues — the sale by Yasmeen Inc. doing-business-as Mini Mart and zoning approval for the sale of alcohol by Spirit of Athens doing-business-as Athens Main Street. The latter request is for a Mardi Gras-themed event Feb. 10 at the Limestone County Event Center;

• Approved a resolution to approve an off-premises beer and wine license to Jay Raghu Inc. doing-business-as Athens Food Mart;

• Set a public hearing for Feb. 26 to hear a request from Nathan and Stephanie Metzger to rezone acreage at 23154 Nick Davis Road from residential district to estate residential and agricultural district;

• Withdrew a resolution to declare a public nuisance on Maxie Allen Street, citing improvements made by the property owner;

• Extended nonexclusive franchise agreement with Charter Communications and renewed nonexclusive franchise agreement with Knology Inc.;

• Renamed Dexter Street to Golden Eagle Drive;

• Approved a resolution to dedicate and accept real property as public right of way on Forrest Street for the purpose of widening the street;

• Authorized Mayor Ronnie Marks to enter into an agreement with Morell Engineering for preliminary engineering services related to the sidewalk extension on Pryor Street;

• Authorized the mayor’s office to apply for an Assistance to Firefighters grant to be used to purchase radios and other equipment to improve communications; and

• Approved the purchase and installation of a police camera system.