HINTON, WV (WVNS)– In June, the chief of the Hinton Police Department spotted a large sinkhole in the headquarters parking lot. Hinton City Manager Cris Meadows said Friday that the city must now find a new headquarters, hopefully by the fall.

Erosion, due to rain, has led the top of the hole to widen. On Friday, the foundation of the building was slightly overhanging the top of the hole, which drops 34 feet, according to Meadows.

Police had been using the building, which was built in 1998, for around three years, he added.

The hole was created when a 100-year-old culvert, an underground pipe that carries water, collapsed.

“The hole has now gone up underneath our police station,” Meadows said. “We moved our men out of there very shortly after the hole happened, so there hasn’t been anybody in the building for a while, and we’ve been slowly moving their supplies out. We anticipate the building will have to be demolished, at some point.”

He said the city is searching for a new police headquarters.

“We’re trying to get a central location for the police department, so they can disperse from the middle of town,” he explained. “It’s hard to come up with a good place for a police station.”

Police are currently using another city building as a headquarters.