KINGSTON — If you have a spare key lying around the house and are a frequent user of the Kingston Community Center, chances are it could be one of the many that unlocks the facility’s exterior doors.

But after this month, it will no longer be needed as the Kitsap County Facilities, Parks and Recreation department installed keyless locks last week on the center’s west-facing and south-facing doors.

Starting in March, users will receive a card with a bar code and be able to swipe it through an electronic reader to unlock the doors at night and on weekends when there are scheduled meetings or events.

“It’s basically to get more control of our building and provide better security for users of the building,” said Senior Maintenance Supervisor for the department Dori Leckner.

With the current system, users get keys from the KCC office, put down a deposit and then return it or keep it for certain period of time, depending on the frequency of the group’s activities. However, keys tend to get lost or handed to another person in the group and are rarely returned to the office.

“It’s much more efficient,” Leckner said. “They don’t have to keep turning it in.”

It is unknown how many keys are floating around the community, Leckner said, but there are at least a couple dozen groups that utilize the building regularly.

Staff members have been fielding concerns from users about the facility’s security, especially after evening activities end and no one has a key to lock the building. For the county, it’s a much more efficient system and for users, it’s more secure, Leckner said.

The new cards can be programmed to be activated for certain time periods, such as an eight-hour day or an entire month. The parks staff are trying to figure out which groups use the building to determine who will receive cards.

While the locks were put in last week, a grace period has been created for groups to adjust to the new system.

The door to the senior citizens lounge, located in the basement, will not have a keyless entry because it is not a main point of entry for users, Leckner said. It has a panic bar that is locked in the open position when the seniors hold activities so people can enter and leave through the same door.

The new system is also being installed at other county-owned community buildings in Kitsap and the county has received positive feedback from users, Leckner said.

For more information, call Toni Fuller or Lauren Erickson at the county’s Parks and Recreation office at (360) 337-5350. The North End park office at KCC is also staffed between 1-4 p.m. Monday through Friday.