HOUSTON -- Harris County Commissioners Court will now have to decide if the cost of repairing the aging Astrodome is justified. The county has been trying to sell the Astrodome for several years.

"I can almost guarantee we're not going to go in and renovate the whole dome just to let it sit there," said Harris County Judge Ed Emmett.

The Houston landmark was hit with numerous building and fire codes violations. Repairing these violations is estimated to cost taxpayers millions of dollars. The county already spends roughly $500,000 a year for its upkeep.

"If we have to say, 'Well, we just won't use it, we won't let anybody office there, we won't let the Livestock Show and Rodeo use it for their Hideout,' that's fine," said Emmett. "I mean, if that's the answer, we'd rather do that then spend millions of dollars just to so it can be used once a year or by a handful of people as an office."

Last February, inspectors with the city of Houston’s Fire Marshals Office determined the Astrodome's certificate of occupancy was invalid. All buildings in the city are required to have this certificate to show the structures have been inspected, are up to code and safe.

"We did some research on the (certificate of occupancy) that we had found at that location, that was posted and, actually, there was no record on it," Senior Fire Inspector Joe Leggio said. "The project code didn't match any codes in the system."

While it is unclear how that happened, when it was discovered, the Astrodome's general manager, Mark Miller, immediately applied for a new certificate in February. That application prompted a different inspection by the city of Houston’s Code Enforcement Division.

The executive director of the Harris County Sports and Convention Corporation, Willie Loston, told Local 2 Investigates that inspection prompted 44 areas that needed to be corrected. Loston said those areas included plumbing, electrical, structural, heating and air conditioner problems and faulty emergency lights, among other issues.

The city of Houston considered these problems to be minor, but still required repairs. The city gives an applicant two years to make repairs before a certificate expires. Loston said work has been done to repair many of these problems.

During that February inspection, the Fire Marshals Office also cited the Astrodome for several violations. Leggio said all but one of those violations was corrected when the Astrodome was re-inspected in June. Leggio said the Dome’s fire alarm system was inoperable and still has not been fixed.

During that follow-up inspection, it was also discovered the Astrodome's fire suppression system wasn't functioning and will likely have to be replaced. The Astrodome was hit with an additional nine fire code violations during that inspection.

"These are major violations," said Leggio. "Without a working fire alarm and fire suppression system, the building should not be occupied and is a hazard."

SMG then moved all 36 employees who have offices in the Astrodome out of the building. Loston also said the Astrodome will no longer host any events or functions until repairs are complete.

Loston said enough repairs were made last February to allow the Astrodome to have a temporary certificate of occupancy. This allowed the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo to hold its annual Hideout event inside the Astrodome. That certificate expired on March 30.

Emmett said another financial consideration is that the county still hasn't fully paid for the Astrodome. Emmett said the county still owes close to the $30 million. He said most of that cost comes from major renovations done to the Astrodome during a time the city and county were trying to keep the Houston Oilers from leaving town.

Local 2 Investigates learned a city of Houston health inspector also paid a visit to the Astrodome last February.

Health department spokeswoman Kathy Barton said the inspector was responding to a complaint, although she did not have details as to the nature of the complaint. She said that during that visit the inspector found some mold in the building, but nothing "alarming." Barton said the inspector recommended that the Astrodome's chilled water pipe insulation be tested for the presence of mold and recommended mold remediation work. It is unclear whether that work has been completed.