Mat-Su Youth Court moves into city hall

WASILLA - The Mat-Su Youth Court will be pulling up stakes and moving to a less visible, more professional location, Wasillas mayor announced at the Wasilla City Councils Monday meeting.

According to Youth Court secretary Eileen Markiel, the move should take place over the next week.

Were trying to get some reserve officers lined up for the 20th to help us move, she said. We will probably be settled on the 23rd.

Markiel said she did not foresee a gap in services, since phone service will be available at both locations throughout the moving period.

The Youth Court has been operating lease-free at the Cottonwood Creek Mall in Wasilla since mid-1996. According to K.B. Tompkins, the malls general manager, the space has been donated for the past four years and, when the end date of the agreement came up, the Youth Court was given several options.

Tompkins said they could rent other space in the mall at a discounted rate, move to another donated space in the mall or simply move out. Since space was available at Wasilla City Hall, Youth Court decided moving to city hall would be the best option.

Although there is less space in their office on the second floor of City Hall, Markiel said other space available there may compensate for less overall office space.

A conference room across the hall from their offices will be used for intake interviews with defendants and their families, and the council chambers will be available for the courts monthly bar meetings, which are attended by assisting attorneys and Youth Courts 67 active student members.

Weve always held court over at the Palmer Courthouse, Markiel said, so thats not going to change.

The office at City Hall will hold the courts one half-time and two full-time employees, with some space available for student members to do research on upcoming cases. Although it may not be as much office space as the court previously had, Markiel said Youth Court is happy to take it.

Beggars cant be choosers, she said. The city of Wasilla has been wonderful to us. [The new location] should give a more professional atmosphere to the youth court.

Markiel said she did not feel the youth courts office at the city would greatly increase traffic flow into city hall. The youth court averages around three juvenile offender intakes per week, each of which involves a meeting with the offender and his or her family.

Student youth court members come in occasionally throughout the summer to pick up their case files or do research for upcoming cases. During the school year, case files are dropped off at the various schools, Markiel said, so the traffic flow would decrease during that time.

Student members also come in once a month for bar meetings, where issues with various cases that come up over the course of the month are discussed. Some area attorneys attend those meetings and offer free advice to student members.

Tompkins was unwilling to disclose who would be moving into the current Youth Court location, but staff at Talk of the Town styling salon confirmed the salon will be expanding its offerings.

Talk of the Town staff said the salon is planning to knock out the wall between the two spaces on July 1, and the new area will offer tanning beds, a massage parlor, body wraps and other beauty and relaxation services.