The county’s plan to replace a building in Seaside promises to be an upgrade in services and aesthetics.

The planned new County of Monterey building in Seaside doesn’t have a name yet, nor has the county identified funding to build it, which the latest estimate pegs at $115 million. But what county officials do have is a vision.

At Seaside’s Oldemeyer Center on Feb. 29, County Supervisor Wendy Root Askew hosted a town hall meeting to talk about that vision. After a few opening remarks, Askew handed it off to Lori Medina, director of the county’s Department of Social Services and the first of one of a handful of speakers whose agency has a stake in the future of the project, which would replace an aging county building at the same location at 1281 Broadway Ave.

Her department serves half of the county residents in a given year through a full gamut of services, among them child welfare and abuse prevention, cash aid, aging and adult services, and veteran and military affairs. In the existing county building at the site, Medina says, about 63 staff members facilitate the distribution of about $194 million of benefits annually. About 25,000 county residents visit the existing building each month.

When the idea to replace or refurbish the existing building first started to be discussed, Medina said, it generated a vision of a campus that could provide other services too. In the plans, the Monterey County Free Libraries branch in Seaside, currently located next to Seaside City Hall, would move into the county building. The District Attorney’s Office would have a place as well – the idea is that the place can be a hub for a whole suite of county services.

“We want a safe, affirming and inviting facility for our families,” Medina told the crowd. “This is not going to be just another county building. We’re looking at a new way of doing business, and we think this can be a model for how the county does business in the future.”

District Attorney Jeannine Pacioni described plans for a family justice center in the building to help build resilience and support children dealing with trauma. “What do you need to build hope that the future is better than today?” she said. The DA’s Office already has a King City site for a family justice center, and this would give them a Peninsula location.

Hillary Theyer, the county’s library director, noted the plan includes a library that would match the existing library’s size. She said the Seaside branch has the most hours of operation of any county library branch, and is a critical connector for the community and the resources the county provides that may help them.

One problem planners are still trying to solve is what to do about Casa de Noche Buena, a nonprofit homeless shelter that houses women and families and provides case management for residents. As currently envisioned, the plan will displace the organization’s existing building on the county-owned campus. Architect Kyle Matti says it’s something he and his team are working to incorporate, if possible.

And every county official in attendance agrees that Casa de Noche Buena will continue to have their full support – it’s just a matter of finding a new location if it can’t remain onsite.

Root Askew estimates the project will cost between $100-$200 million.