Aric Sleeper here, thinking about falling leaves and the end of daylight saving time, already longing for the later sunsets to come this spring.
Monterey County residents who have patronized the County’s social services building in Seaside, which shuttered its doors on Friday, Oct. 30, may also be looking ahead to a time in the coming years when a new building will replace the aging edifice, built in 1975.
As my colleague, Chrissa Olson, reported in this week’s issue of the Weekly, plans to replace the old social services building have been in the works for years, but even though its closure was planned, the loss of the services hub will still be felt by Seaside residents who have frequented the place for years.
When Olson visited the now-shuttered building, she spoke with community members who prefer the friendly face-to-face interactions the social services building was known for versus those online or over the phone. Olson reports that roughly 120-150 clients would be seen in the building each day.
While the design of the new building is still in the works, a satellite social services office will open in Marina on Nov. 2, giving folks a place to go in the meantime. In addition to the Marina office, County staff are on the hunt for another temporary office in the City of Seaside.
So, like the return of later sunsets, the construction of the new office is still far off on the horizon, but at least county residents will have options in the meantime.