That was the case at Mayor Jon Nehring’s Koffee Klatch last week when Cmdr. Jeff Goldman talked about the Marysville Police Department.

Goldman said the department is having success by analyzing trends and targeting areas.

“Results when officers have ownership are remarkable,” he said.

Goldman said the heroin epidemic nationwide has not skipped Marysville. It is most prevalent in the age group of 19-26, and it often starts with painkillers. The Pro-Act team is focused on that.

He said a new city law that allows Code Enforcement to board up houses without water and sewer is helping the drug battle, too.

“That’s the frosting on the cake,” he said. “It’s helping it go away.”

Goldman said the need for a drug fix coincides with thefts and burglaries. The Property Crimes Unit is focused on that.

“There’s no dome over the city” as criminals travel all over looking for property to steal, he said, explaining why it’s multi-jurisdictional.

Goldman also said the city has a robust program to get ride of graffiti. However, a community volunteer “paint out” will take place April 16 to help the problem even more.

Also discussed was the Neighborhood Watch – “Drive crime out of the city one neighborhood at a time” – and other police volunteer opportunities.

He said the city needs a new jail.

“You can’t put somebody in jail to get crime down” if there is no room,” he said.

Nehring also talked about the jail, built in 1989. “We’re fortunate to have these assets but we’ve got to take care of them too,” he said, adding some communities let small crimes go because they have no place to put culprits.

On other topics:

•Regarding transportation, Nehring said the city will receive $170 million from the state in the next decade for four huge projects along I-5.

One is 116th Street, in conjunction with the Tulalip Tribes, which is about halfway done.

The big one will be Highway 529, which will allow motorists to avoid the train tracks when entering and exiting Marysville and divert the gridlock on 4th Avenue. Work on it will start next year, with the bulk of the activity from 2019-2022. A new First Street Bypass will help vehicles get to Highway 9 easier as well.

The third project is turning the bridge at 156th into a full interchange. Nehring is often asked why that wasn’t done in the first place. “It still wouldn’t have been done today,” he gives as an answer.

He also talked about a plan to open a shoulder lane during peak commuting hours between Everett and Marysville.

Nehring said it often takes a decade for state road projects to go from idea to completion.

“These are on an incredibly swift timetable,” he said.

•As for city road work, Nehring said many roads will be paved this spring and summer. “We have a lot of lane miles to cover,” he said. He urges people to go online to the city website and “Report a Pothole.” “We’re not going to find them all.” The goal is to fix it within 24 hours. By doing that, it is less expensive to repair roads instead of waiting for them to deteriorate.

•Regarding talks and surveys about State Avenue’s future, Chief Administrative Officer Gloria Hirashima talked about it being a key transportation corridor. But she also said people would like to see it modernized, landscaped, cleaned up and beautified to make it “pleasing to the eye.”

•Nehring mentioned Community Transit is going to expand routes in Marysville to have better connections to Highway 9 and southbound I-5.

•Nehring also said Marysville has some of the lowest water and sewer rates around, with a major reason being the city owns half its water. The other half is purchased from Everett, and it is more costly. The new Sunnyside well will be built on a 20-acre lot, providing three million gallons of water a day, reducing Marysville’s reliance on Everett even more. The city has rolling increases of 2 percent each year, but if Everett raises its rate, “We pass it on to you.”

•The mayor also talked about city efforts to improve the stagnant waterfront. He talked about a recreational area that could draw tourists. He said by investing in downtown, the city hopes to drive private business to the area.

•Nehring said lots of events are planned this summer. “Part of government is quality-of-life issues,” he added.