On June 12, 2024, the City of Arcata announced that Merritt Perry will be Arcata’s new City Manager. The official press release is below.

Merritt Perry grew up in Ukiah, California, and graduated from Cal Poly Humboldt (then Humboldt State University) with a B.S. in Environmental Engineering in 1997. He has been the city manager in Fortuna for six years. Prior to his position as city manager, Mr. Perry worked as City Engineer and Director of Public Works in Fortuna, for a period of four years, and prior to that with Winzler & Kelly / GHD Engineering in Eureka for eleven years.

He served for seven months as interim city manager in Fortuna following the resignation of former city manager Mark Wheetley, who resigned in April  2018, following his sentencing in a 2017 DUI case (see below). Fortuna Police Chief Bill Dobberstein briefly held the interim city manager position before Perry took over. 

When Merritt Perry was appointed by the Fortuna City Council to be city manager in 2018, the city council was assisted by a panel that included Arcata City Manager Karen Diemer, Eureka City Manager Greg Sparks, and Eureka Police Chief Steve Watson.

At the time, Arcata City Manager Karen Diemer said: “He had this combination of being able to demonstrate that he had successfully moved small projects and large projects forward in Fortuna,” she said. But Perry also showed “a heartfelt commitment” to the residents and businesses of Fortuna.

Merritt Perry — Background

• Graduated from Ukiah High School – 1989
• Started Cal Poly Humboldt (then Humboldt State University) – 1992
• Graduated Cal Poly Humboldt with degree in B.S., Environmental Engineering – 1997
• Started at the Eureka engineering firm, Winzler & Kelly – March 2003
• Winzler & Kelly was purchased by the international engineering firm, GHD, in January 2012. Merritt Perry continued as Senior Project Manager for environmental and civil engineering projects.
• City Engineer / Director of Public Works. City of Fortuna. July 2014 to December 2018.
• City Manager of Fortuna. December 2018 to August 2024.
• City Manager of Arcata. Scheduled to start August 19, 2024.

Sidebar:  Arcata History – 2017

Mark Wheetley was elected to the Arcata City Council in 2005 and served for twelve years.  He was Mayor of Arcata in 2008, 2009, and 2014. He left the Arcata City Council March, 2017, to become the city manager for Fortuna. 

The Arcata City Council in 2017 consisted of outgoing mayor Paul Pitino, Councilmember Michael Winkler, incoming mayor Susan Ornelas, incoming vice mayor Sofia Pereira, and Councilmember Mark Wheetley.

He filled a seat that was opened by the resignation of Elizabeth Conner, a former Arcata Planning Commissioner who was elected to the City Council in 2002. She left in 2004 to take on a job with director of the Humboldt Bay Housing Development Corporation, a nonprofit group that advocates and develops affordable housing. The California Fair Political Practices Commission ruled that she would have to refrain from voting on issues related to affordable housing if she were to remain on the Council.

Mark Wheetley’s resignation in 2017 left a seat open on the City Council, which was filled by appointment. Brett Watson was chosen from a field of seven candidates. The seven candidates were: Brett Watson, Josh Neff, Robin Baker, current Arcata vice-mayor Alex Stillman, Michael Hart, and long-time veteran Planning Commissioner Judith Mayer. Brett Watson completed the almost 20 months remaining on Mark Wheetley’s term, and was elected in the November 2018 election to a full term. He served 5-1/2 years, and was not re-elected in 2022.

In January of 2016 Mark Wheetley was on the Arcata Council and was considered to be a strong candidate to replace outgoing supervisor Mark Lovelace on the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors. He was arrested for a DUI and several weeks later bowed out of the supervisors race. Former Harbor Commissioner Mike Wilson was elected in 2016 for the 3rd District Board of Supervisors seat, and was re-elected in 2020 and  2024. A subsequent DUI by Mark Wheetley, eighteen months later, resulted in his resignation from the Fortuna city manager position. This created the opening that Merritt Perry was appointed to, as city manager for Fortuna, starting in 2018.

And in yet another link between Arcata and the Friendly City to the south (that would be Fortuna) —
Prior to Mark Wheetley departing the Arcata City Council to become Fortuna’s City Manager, former Arcata police chief and former Arcata city manager Randy Mendosa served as interim city manager of Fortuna from October 2016 through March 2017.

Photos of Merritt Perry

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Press release from the City of Arcata
June 12, 2024

City of Arcata Announces New City Manager Merritt Perry

The City of Arcata is excited to share the selection of Merrit Perry as the next City Manager.  With more than 30 years of local work on public projects and 10 years of direct municipal government experience, Mr. Perry brings a wealth of expertise to his new role.

“Merritt comes with a great background and a great track record,” Mayor Meredith Matthews said. “He already has strong relationships in Arcata, graduating from Cal Poly Humboldt’s Engineering Program, working on many Arcata projects including The Humboldt Bay Trail North, and having raised his family in Arcata schools. I couldn’t be happier to know that our new City Manager is one with great experience who already has a genuine appreciation for and connection to our community”.

Perry will take over starting August 19th, the city said.

Regarding his upcoming appointment Mr. Perry said, “I’m very excited to get started in Arcata and am grateful for the City Council’s confidence in my ability to serve as City Manager. Exciting things are happening in Arcata, and I look forward to working with the residents, businesses and staff to build on the momentum underway set through the City Council’s vision for the future”.

Mr. Perry replaces City Manager Karen Diemer, who is set to retire in September after 28 years of service to the City, the past nine as City Manager.

For more information, community members are encouraged to email [email protected] or call (707) 822-5953.

2018

Time-Standard article from November 28, 2018
by Philip Santos

Fortuna names Merritt Perry as city manager

3-year contract set to be confirmed by council Thursday morning

Fortuna named its interim city manager Merritt Perry to the permanent post this morning.

According to the Perry’s proposed three-year employment contract, he will be paid a salary of $126,000, an increase of about $20,000 from his previous position with the city as its public works director and city engineer, according to Transparent California. The contract is set to be confirmed in a special City Council meeting Thursday.

Perry said he has worked with the city since 2014 and enjoys working there.

“I’m excited about the position,” he said. “It’s an important and really interesting job that I enjoy.”

Perry served as the interim city manager for seven months prior to his selection as the permanent city manager. He said that during the early stages of his time as interim city manager, he didn’t give much thought to applying for the position permanently.

“The more I thought about it, the more I really saw potential for me to do the position,” he said. “I wanted to make sure the city had the best person in the position they could, whether it was me or someone else.”

The position opened in April when former City Manager Mark Wheetley resigned following his sentencing in a DUI case that dated back to 2017. Fortuna Police Chief Bill Dobberstein briefly held the interim city manager position before Perry took over.

The City Council, along with a professional panel, vetted six candidates for the position. Perry was happy about the city’s choice to utilize a competitive selection process, stating that he believed it was a good way to assure the community the council selected the best person they could.

Arcata City Manager Karen Diemer was one of the panel members, along with Eureka City Manager Greg Sparks and Eureka Police Chief Steve Watson. Diemer said Perry was an impressive candidate for a few reasons.

“He had this combination of being able to demonstrate that he had successfully moved small projects and large projects forward in Fortuna,” she said. But Perry also showed “a heartfelt commitment” to the residents and businesses of Fortuna.

According to Mayor Sue Long, Perry was rated No. 1 by the council and the panel, “above and beyond” the other candidates.

“We’re all excited. It was a unanimous decision,” she said. “I’m looking forward to what the future holds here.”

Long said she is relieved to have a permanent city manager. There is a long list of things the city hopes to move forward with now that they have Perry on a more permanent basis, she said. But even during his time as interim city manager, Long said Perry has been quite effective.

“He stepped in and made a huge difference,” she said. “He’s an engineer by profession and a pro at problem-solving.”

Long said she was particularly grateful for Perry’s history with the city. Because he is a local resident who has worked in the city previously, he already has the connections necessary to be effective in his position.

Perry first began working with the city when he was a civil engineering consultant doing work with several cities in Humboldt County. He applied with the city for a position as the public works director and city engineer in 2014 and has worked for the city since then. Perry said that because of his past work, he is already familiar with the city’s infrastructure, meaning he needs no time to get up to speed. He’s looking forward to focusing his work on Fortuna, he said, rather than being spread out over several cities.

He said the public can expect him to be a city manager who is available and responsive to the public. He says he will maintain a high level of service to the community. His plans include focusing on flood control, redevelopment of the former Pacific Lumber Co. mill site, and supporting existing businesses while promoting the development of new businesses.

“I really enjoy working in the city, it’s a great place to work,” he said. “People here are solution-oriented and want to see progress made; that makes it straight-forward place to work.”

Press Release from the City of Fortuna
November 28, 2018

The Fortuna City Council is pleased to announce that the City of Fortuna has completed the City Manager selection process, and expects to finalize a contract with the current Interim City Manager, Merritt Perry on November 29, 2018.

Mr. Perry has been with the city since 2014 in the capacity of City Engineer/Public Works Director and has served as the interim City Manager for the last seven months. He has kept the city running smoothly during a gap between managers. Mr. Perry has done an exemplary job during his time as interim, and will be a good fit for the position in a permanent capacity. The City Council and a professional panel interviewed six potential candidates and Mr. Perry rose to the top in both interviews.

Under the leadership of Mr. Perry, the City of Fortuna will continue in a positive and organized direction and seek ways to continue to provide exceptional services and sound fiscal management for the City of Fortuna.

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2017

The Northcoast Journal
July 14, 2017
Thadeus Greenson

Fortuna City Manager Arrested for Second DUI

Fortuna City Manager Mark Wheetley was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence yesterday evening, just about 18 months after a DUI arrest derailed his candidacy for a seat on the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors.

California Highway Patrol spokesman Cy May said an officer pulled Wheetley over shortly after 7 p.m. yesterday after spotting him speeding on State Route 255 near Navy Base Road. In addition to allegedly doing about 70 miles an hour in a 55 zone, May said the registration tags on Wheetley’s 2013 Chrysler Town and Country minivan were expired.

“After we stopped him and contacted him, the officer observed Mr. Wheetley displaying signs and symptoms of intoxication,” May said, adding that the officer then gave Wheetley a field sobriety test, which he failed.

Wheetley was arrested and booked into the Humboldt County jail on suspicion of driving under the influence, driving with a blood alcohol level above 0.08 and violating the terms of his probation.

The agenda for Fortuna’s Monday city council meeting was updated just before noon today to include a closed session public employee discipline item that lists the city manager.

In January of 2016, while still a sitting member of the Arcata City Council and mounting a promising candidacy to replace Mark Lovelace on the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors, Wheetley was pulled over and arrested in virtually the same location on State Route 255 and charged with DUI. Weeks later, Wheetley bowed out of the supervisors race, citing “personal and professional obligations.” He ultimately pleaded guilty to a reduced charge and was sentenced to three years probation.

Earlier this year, he stepped down from his seat on the Arcata City Council in order to accept a job as Fortuna’s city manager. Journal attempts to contact Wheetley for this story were not immediately successful.

The Lost Coast Outpost
Thursday, Feb. 2, 2017
Ryan Burns 

Moving to Fortuna: Arcata Councilmember Mark Wheetley Accepts Job as ‘Friendly City’ Manager

Roughly halfway through his fourth term on the Arcata City Council, Mark Wheetley has announced that he’ll be stepping down and moving about half an hour south to become the city manager of Fortuna.

This morning Wheetley told the Outpost that after 30 years working as an environmental specialist for the state of California, he’s getting ready to retire — from that job, anyway. But he said that through his experience in Arcata and working with the League of California Cities he’s gained relevant training and experience.

“I thought this might be a direction I wanted to pursue,” he said.

Wheetley expects to start the Fortuna gig at the beginning of April, but he may step down from the Arcata City Council before the end of this month.

“I feel like we’ve got a very experienced council,” he said. “I’m hopeful — though it’s not my call — that they might consider appointing someone versus [incurring] the cost of a special election.”

In recent election cycles Arcata has had a hard time attracting candidates. Wheetley said he’s been reaching out to members of municipal committees and commissions to see if anyone’s interested in taking his place, but the reception has been lukewarm.

“Some of ‘em don’t flat-out say no,” Wheetley said with a chuckle.

After moving to Arcata to attend HSU in 1977, Wheetley moved away in 1985 but came back eight years later and has been in the college city for the 23-plus years since then. But he’s now planning to move once again.

“I hope to keep my house in Arcata,” he said. “However, part of the agreement [with the City of Fortuna] is they would like the city manager to live in Fortuna. So in order to be effective I will commit to doing that.”

Fortuna officials agreed to give him a year transition time, but Wheetley said the move makes sense. “It helps to be on the ground to get the day-to-day to get pulse of the community.”

Here’s a press release from the City of Fortuna:

Fortuna, CA- This morning at the Fortuna Chamber of Commerce’s Annual State of the City Breakfast, Mayor Sue Long announced that a contract has been signed with Fortuna’s new City Manager, Mark Wheetley.

According to Mayor Long, Council is “still working on some of the logistics for a firm start date and should have that information available early next week.”

Mayor Sue Long has stated that Mark Wheetley is “…enthusiastic, energetic, and approachable. He will be a great Asset to the City of Fortuna.”

Mayor Pro Tem Tami Trent said, “I am very excited to get a City Manager that already knows and loves Fortuna.”

Council Member Doug Strehl said, “I’ve known and worked with Mark through the Redwood Empire League of Cities and am very excited that he will be our City Manager. Along with his expertise and our great city staff “Fortuna Strong” will get stronger.”

According to Council Member Dean Glaser “Fortuna City Council has chosen to hire local rather than utilize a hiring firm to advertise for candidates outside Humboldt. The Council had utilized outside hiring agencies in 2002 and 2012. This time a local candidate has successfully met the Council’s mandates and will be our City Manager for 2017. I’m truly delighted with our choice and I’ve known him for the past 10 years.”

Council Member Tiara Brown stated “The staff at the City of Fortuna are extremely dedicated and hardworking. I am thrilled to have Mark on board. With his leadership and forward thinking mentality, Fortuna’s future is bright.”

The City Council is expected to announce Wheetley’s start date soon.