With just 18 days left before it must vacate its Fourth Avenue location, the Whitehorse Youth Centre is looking at moving into the local Royal Canadian Legion building on Alexander Street, even if just for the short term.

Representatives of both organizations were to meet this afternoon to discuss the possibility after a council and senior management meeting about the youth centre was held at city hall early Wednesday afternoon.

'From our perspective, the clock's ticking,' Stephen Mead, the centre's executive director, said in an interview this morning.

At Wednesday's noon meeting with council and city management, Mead and the centre's society president, Tony Zedda, were on-hand to update the city on where it's at with plans to find a more permanent home for the youth centre.

The facility has been looking for a permanent location for a while. However, as Zedda explained to the city, the notice it received from the building's owner early in the new year to vacate its premises at the end of this month left the group looking for another short-term solution that would, ideally, end up being part of the longer-term plan.

In a previous interview, Lawrence Thornton, the owner of the centre's current premises, said a business decision made him ask the youth centre and Bringing Youth Towards Equality (B.Y.T.E.) to leave.

Thornton wants a tenant who can commit to a five-year lease, rather than the month-to-month arrangement he's had with the two youth organizations. B.Y.T.E. has since found a new location.

Before getting the eviction notice, the centre looked at various facilities around town for its long-term plans. They included the former Car Care service garage across the street, which remains empty, a daycare building on Sixth Avenue and the Legion, as was suggested by Mayor Ernie Bourassa.

Eventually, the choice came down to the daycare building and the Legion.

While the daycare isn't in an ideal location, Zedda noted the Legion's space was a bit overwhelming for the group.

'It was just too much space,' Mead explained.

The space also didn't meet the needs of partners like B.Y.T.E., which may have shared the space. B.Y.T.E. requires more of an office setting.

The board of the centre recently passed a resolution to make an offer on the daycare, which is listed at $179,000.

As Zedda pointed out, though, the situation is now basically at a standstill because of financing. Since the group is a non-profit organization, it can't guarantee a loan. Individual board members would need to take responsibility for the loan.

This leaves the youth centre looking for someone to secure the loan.

'That's the dilemma that we're in,' he said.

After Zedda and Mead updated the city on its situation, realtor Marj Eschak, who's working on the sale of the Legion building, questioned whether some other options for the group to move into the Legion, even for the short term, could be looked at.

She suggested the possibility of the youth centre using a portion of the Legion, with other tenants in there as well and an overall manager or owner who could look after the site.

'I don't think it's out of the question,' she said, noting there's interest from other groups around town looking for more space.

Bourassa questioned David Laxton, the Legion's second vice-president, on whether the organization might be able to house the youth centre on a temporary basis. Laxton replied that while it would be a matter that would have to go to the group's executive, it's not something he sees them opposing.

Zedda also asked whether the Legion had considered the possibility of making the building a kind of condominium so it could be sold off in portions.

The Legion hadn't given that any thought, Laxton said.

'We're open to any suggestions,' he added.

In an interview after the noon meeting, Laxton explained the Legion is selling its building which it moved into in the early 1980s to work on a seniors' housing project.

'We don't have enough money for a down payment,' he explained. 'And we also don't have the management capabilities of operating two facilities. We'd like to have one facility.'

Last October, Bourassa suggested the possibility of the youth centre moving into the Alexander Street building.

In an interview Wednesday afternoon, Bourassa explained it came up when he was dealing with the Legion on another matter.

'I'm leaving it in their hands,' he said, noting he views the city's role in the situation as being that of a matchmaker.

While the city has a reserve available that could help fund renovations for youth centre facility, Bourassa noted the funds are for a long-term home. That reserve is at approximately $100,000.

Zedda stressed the importance of finding a place quickly, with only a little more than two weeks left before the youth centre has to leave its current space.

'We're pretty flexible,' he said.

Laxton also noted the Legion is willing to look at ideas for the youth centre to use the building.

'We're going to try to do the best we can to try to accommodate everybody and still make our pet project go ahead,' he said.

This morning, Mead said he wasn't sure whether today's meeting would end up seeing the youth centre and Legion enter into an agreement or simply continue discussions on possibilities for a move.

There will be a number of factors to look at in the possibility of moving to the Legion, with one of the major factors being the cost of a lease or purchase.

He noted it was hoped that by finding a permanent home, the centre would save some money it currently spends on rent.

The number-one priority, though, is maintaining the services for the youth.

Mead said many of the youth who use the centre are wondering where it will be moving to. He wanted to begin a communications campaign to let the young people know the details of the move, but that's hard to do when he doesn't know the answer to that either.

At the end of the day, there may be a chance that the centre has to close its doors, at least for a little while. However, Mead said the organization will do everything it can to keep it open and maintain its services.

Councillors Doug Graham, Mel Stehelin and Bev Buckway were absent from Wednesday's meeting.