Kalispell Police Chief Roger Nasset scribbled notes based on community comments and explained the unique issues involved in leading the city’s police department Wednesday evening.

The inaugural Coffee with the Chief meeting at Sykes’ Diner is an initiative Nasset had undertaken to get the community more familiar with law enforcement and get officers in the loop about what townspeople want from their police.

“It was only the beginning,” Nasset said after the meeting.

The program is set for the second Wednesday each month and likely will have alternating start times of 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 a.m. Nasset hopes the program will have positive results.

“We’re here to talk about our community and how we can make our environment better,” Nasset said.

People came with a varied list of discussion topics, including why theft in the valley has increased, what can be done about parking issues downtown and how to prevent crime.

“It was way beyond what I thought it was going to be,” Pauline Sjordal said. She lives in the neighborhood and thought a handful of concerned folks might show up. Instead the room was packed with people from all parts of town.

“I was so pleased to see that people came with concerns,” she said. She also said the meeting helped her understand the police force better and how she can help officers do their jobs.

Nasset explained some of the challenges his 37-officer force faces.

On average, officers respond to around 100 calls for service per day. While Nasset is grateful for two additional officer positions recently granted by the Kalispell City Council, he would like to see a force of 40 officers if finances allow.

“We’re really an anomaly,” Nasset said of the town’s tax base.

Kalispell has around 20,000 people within the city’s tax district but has a much larger unincorporated area outside city limits. Additionally, a huge population of tourists and others passing through often creates demand for more services, but those visitors don’t pay taxes to help pay for those services.

“I’ll be honest with you, it really taxes our ability to provide the best services sometimes,” Nasset said. “These men in blue out there on the street are getting tired. That’s why we are here. How do we make things better?”

Nasset and his officers gave tips for how people can make their jobs easier. Simple crime deterrents such as installing lighting, remembering to lock up property and calling in tips about suspicious activity can go a long way.

Sgt. Myron Wilson stressed that it is important to record serial numbers or other important identifiers that can help reunite lost items with property owners.

The department has many stolen items that never make it home to their rightful owners.

“Even though we find it and know it’s stolen, we can’t return it,” Wilson said.

Nasset hopes that increased community meetings can help both crime victims and the officers.

“Let’s make some good changes,” Nasset said.

Reporter Megan Strickland can be reached at 758-4459 or mstrickland@dailyinterlake.com.