Voters in North Bend and King County Fire Protection District 38 vote Feb. 8 on Proposition 1, a bond measure to replace the community’s decrepit, outmoded fire station.

Ballot issues running simultaneously in the city and the fire district must pass and meet a challenging 60 percent supermajority with minimum turnouts for the new station to be a reality.

It’s taken years of work and a meeting of the minds of both the city and the fire district to reach this point. Now, it’s up to the voters.

Passage of Prop. 1 will be good for North Bend. Building a new station, and getting the community’s core emergency responders out of a worn-out, 63-year-old building, is vital. Making certain that firefighters have an adequate place to do their jobs, making sure they can safely get out the door to an emergency, is essentially taking care of all of our infrastructure.

Construction of the new facility is not about bells and whistles—this is a basic need. The tax cost is minor—roughly $6 per month for the owner of a $400,000 home.

We can’t put off this replacement anymore. It’s time for the community to step up and take care of what’s most important—its safety. City and district residents should support Proposition 1 for a modern North Bend fire station.