The County prepares to buy a building – and maybe end a legal controversy.

The angular structure on the corner of Romie Lane and South Main Street in Salinas that is intermittently known as the Quadrangle or the Life Foundation Building has always struck me as rather drab and unremarkable, all shades of brown on brown. It’s notable mostly for its size, 102,000 square feet, and for its function as the County of Monterey’s Department of Social Services administrative center, and also as a place for clients to submit and process paperwork for programs like CalFresh and CalWorks.

Since the mid-1980s, when the County moved in, the cogs of government have been quietly humming along inside. In 2007, the County signed a new 20-year lease and expanded its footprint to utilize the entire space, paying a stepped-up annual rent ($195,000 by 2024) to the owner, the Life Foundation, based in Aspen, Colorado. The lease included an option to purchase the building come 2026.

On May 19, the County Board of Supervisors approved that purchase for $7 million, with a deal anticipated to close on July 1. They announced the plan with a celebratory press release, department director Roderick Franks calling it “a prudent and strategic investment that secures a permanent home for the Department of Social Services and the vital programs we provide.”

What county officials did not say is that they are still fighting a bitter court battle with the owner.

Life Foundation founder and executive director, Barnett Davis II, based in Malibu, started a career in real estate in 1999, according to his bio, then started the Low Income Family Enrichment (Life) Foundation. “The Life Foundation actively pursues the purchase and/or development of facilities leased to the governmental and charitable agencies to significantly lower agency facility costs and to use the income generated by these facilities to support local charitable endeavors that complement agency objectives,” according to the nonprofit’s website.

That includes the Quadrangle in Salinas, leased to the County of Monterey. The concept is that the Life Foundation uses the rent proceeds to make grants to charitable groups. “It was a win-win,” Davis’ attorneys wrote.

A judge declared him to be in contempt of court.

Some standard-issue tenant-landlord conflicts arose as to who would pay for improvements to the roof, lobby and parking lot. It broke down by 2024, when the County sued the Life Foundation, alleging breach of contract over the foundation’s demand for “Saturday rent” for weekend hours, and alleging unauthorized withdrawals from the building’s finance account, resulting in over $130,000 that was unaccounted for.

Davis counter-sued the County, claiming it owed him money, was violating the lease by operating outside of business hours on Saturdays, and had been an unreasonable tenant: “The County forced the Foundation to agree to several changes that could ultimately destroy the Foundation.”

Since those dueling lawsuits were filed in 2024, court records indeed seem to spell destruction of the foundation. The foundation indicated it has “less than $10,000” remaining to meet its obligations. By August of 2025, judges became so concerned about its viability that a receiver was appointed to manage it, over Davis’ objections.

A trail of misconduct followed, with Davis repeatedly attempting to transfer funds from the Life Foundation to other accounts, despite the court-appointed receiver’s sole authority to do so.

“Defendants do not believe themselves to be restrained in any manner by anything that the Superior Court has decided over the last 18 months,” County attorneys wrote.

A judge ordered Davis to pay back over $156,000 and declared him to be in contempt of court. (I did not hear back from him or his attorneys.)

The court-appointed receiver, Brent Waldman, developed a plan to transfer the title of the building from the Life Foundation to the County, over Davis’ objections.

The next hearing in Monterey County Superior Court is set for June 18, when a judge is likely to rule consistently with past rulings – that the foundation is insolvent and the County has a right to exercise its option to buy. But until the ink is dry, it’s still in active litigation.

SARA RUBIN is the Weekly’s editor. Reach her at sara@montereycountynow.com.