DENVER -- Officials in charge of Denver's animal shelter reported a plan of action to city council members Tuesday in response to a scalding report from the Humane Society of the United States that uncovered problems with staffing, sanitation and procedures.

The final report, released in January, said that "overwhelmed" staff are "barely able to provide the essentials of care, much less stimulation and enrichment."

It described "inadequate" cleaning procedures that may have contributed to sick animals and listed almost 550 recommendations for improvement.

"We knew we had weaknesses, and now they'll become strengths in short order," said Sherry Purdy, deputy manager of the Department of Environmental Health.

She told city council members in Tuesday's GreenPrint Committee that since the preliminary report came out last fall, they have launched a task force to prioritize the recommendations.

They have also restructured the volunteer programs, enhanced adoption events and changed cleaning and vaccination protocols.

"I think the words are there. We'll wait to see if the actions follow," said Denver City Councilman Doug Linkhart.

Linkhart said he believes the problem isn't money -- it's management.

"I'm hopeful. I can't say that I'm confident, but I'm hopeful they'll be making the changes," said Linkhart.

Animal Control officials said many of the problems will be solved when the new shelter is built. The new building is currently in the design phase and scheduled for completion in 2011.