DANVILLE, Ill. (WCIA) — The Vermilion County Animal Shelter is deteriorating, and employees are pleading for a new building. Luckily, help may soon be on the way.

Workers said the facility is making it tough to keep dogs safe and healthy.

Shelter Director Kasey Snyder said multiple problems have been on her radar for more than a couple years. It’s not just the fact the building is falling apart, but that they need more rooms and space for all the animals they take in.

Snyder has brought it up to county board members, but going through the summer with no air conditioning convinced her it was time to go all-in asking for a new building.

“It’s falling down around us a little bit every day,” she said. “It seems like ceilings are falling down, it’s molding, there’s things rusting out.”

Veterinarian Isabel Coles works at the shelter twice a week. She said the conditions inside aren’t only tough on employees, but they’re not good for animals either. Coles said they need better rooms to safely separate animals, like a designated isolation room for sick pets, and other space concerns.

“What bothers me, there’s no central supplies place where everything could be [found],” Coles said.

However, help may be on the way. Kevin Green, Property Committee Chairman, has been in contact with Snyder, who will propose a plan at next week’s property committee meeting.

“We’re working with a company that makes suggestions on how it can be improved,” Green said.

Green and Snyder both think a new facility is the best option. Snyder said the building is about 20 or 30 years old, and the shelter falls short of guidelines set by the Association for Shelter Veterinarians. Green said the cost of a new HVAC was quoted just under $1 million.

“The building is in disrepair and would cost an enormous amount of money to repair it,” he said. “And even then, it wouldn’t be up to specs.”

The property committee meeting will be at the Vermillion County Administration Building on Oct. 23, and is open to the public.