North Kitsap Fire & Rescue commissioners announced at their meeting April 9 that they have appointed Chelsea Tate of Kingston to temporarily fill the position left vacant when longtime Commissioner Stephen Neupert died in early February.

Tate will serve through 2025 when the seat will appear on the ballot in that year’s general election, an NKF&R news release states.

Neupert was reelected to a six-year term in November. Tate and Eric Arntson were the only ones who expressed interest in the spot.

“The decision was not easy,” NKF&R commissioners chair Gillian Gregory said. “We have significant challenges ahead as we consider how to replace the Suquamish fire station and meet the demands of our growing communities as efficiently as possible. Mrs. Tate presented qualities that more closely align with those we’d identified as key — including her broad community involvement and leadership as well as her solid track record of building bridges with community stakeholders.”

Tate has been director of Boys & Girls Club of North Kitsap since 2016 and is president of the Village Green Foundation nonprofit that raised funds to build that community center, per the release. She lives near Kingston. Although her fire department experience is only as a recipient of NKF&R’s emergency services and community involvement, Tate feels that this perspective makes her well-suited to fulfill a commissioner’s role.

Tate will be sworn in as commissioner at their April 22 meeting at 7 p.m.