A $3.9 million price tag for repairing the County Social Services office in Seaside forces its closure.

The Department of Social Services Office in Seaside where Monterey County residents often apply for vital services like Medi-Cal, CalFresh and CalWORKS will close Oct. 30 after a June 2025 audit found it was out of compliance with disability standards. 

The repairs would have cost $3.9 million, causing the department to elect to shutter the office at 1281 Broadway instead, as it did not have the budget to repair spaces, walkways and bathrooms that were out of compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Services available there will be moved to the Coastal Satellite Office, 2620 1st Ave., Marina, and will operate the same as they were in Seaside, according to assistant director for the Department of Social Services Eva Jeronimo. She says the department is committed to continuing services. 

Casa de Noche Buena, a homeless shelter for women and families with children in a different building on the same lot, will not be affected, Jeronimo says. 

Starting Nov. 2, there will be limited in-person services at the coastal office. Jeronimo says staff from the Seaside office will be moved to offices in Marina and Salinas. 

People will be able to apply for benefits at that office if they are homeless, in a housing crisis, experiencing domestic violence or sexual assault, or if needing to obtain or replace an EBT card or obtain an emergency Medi-Cal paper card. The department still has full service offices open in Salinas at 1000 S. Main Street, Suite 216, and King City, 116 Broadway Street. 

They are still looking for an alternative location for the department in Seaside, Jeronimo says. There is no set deadline for finding a new location. 

The redevelopment of the lot that contains the Social Services Building in Seaside has been led by Supervisor Wendy Root-Askew, and most recently the Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 in January to demolish the building and build a three-story building with underground parking in its place.

However, county spokesperson Nick Pasculli notes that there is not yet a timeline for its construction.