Due to significant maintenance costs and the age of the Central Kitsap Fire & Rescue’s Tracyton fire station, Chief Scott Weninger is recommending to the board that the station be closed.

The matter is up for a vote Monday at a meeting of the board of commissioners. The meeting begins at 4 p.m. at the administration building, 5300 NW Newberry Hill Road in Silverdale.

After more than four months of public meetings and debate, Weninger is asking the board to close the Tracyton Station, relocate personnel and equipment and sell the building.

“Decommissioning a fire station within an established community cane very contentious and political issue, thus the extensive process completed prior to moving forward,” Weninger wrote in an agenda brief.

The possible closure of Station 44 in Tracyton has been discussed on and off since September of 2013. In March, the district held an open house at the station and allowed the public an opportunity to view the station and comment on its future.

While a group of neighbors asked that the station, which is manned by volunteers only, be kept open, staff presented cost estimates that showed it would be about $500,000 to make the needed updates to make the station a viable option.

According to the district’s maintenance director Paul Anderson, repairs to the station to bring it up to standards, would be at least $500,000. The closure is taking place to save the district money.

It will cost about $39,000 to relocate the equipment and personnel.If the station is closed, CKF&R staff said the area is adequately covered by Station 41 on Military Road and Station 45 on Trenton Avenue in the Ilahee area.

In other matters, the board will discuss replacement of the heating and air-conditioning (HVAC) at Station 56.

The board is being asked to approve engineering and architects fees four $61,609. The estimated cost of the project is $225,000. Funds will come from the capital facilities fund.