Merritt Perry Begins Tenure as Arcata's City Manager 

Merritt Perry became Arcata's new city manager this week, moving north after a six-year tenure holding the same position in Fortuna.

Perry has been praised by Arcata city councilmembers for projects he completed in Fortuna and his past city work in Arcata. The Arcata City Council approved Perry's hire at its July 17 meeting, picking him from a field of candidates to step in for City Manager Karen Diemer, who is set to retire next month after 28 years with the city, the last nine in her current role.

"He has worked with our staff over the years and appreciates their abilities," says Mayor Meredith Matthews. "I think it's going to be an easy transition and one that will be valuable for us in Arcata and for him."

The move represents something of a homecoming for Perry, graduating from Humboldt State University in 1997 with bachelor of science in environmental engineering. He began work for Winzler and Kelly Consulting Engineers as a civil engineer in 2003, then became senior project manager, before he continued in that role for GHD, after the two companies merged in 2012. In 2014, he left that position to become Fortuna's city engineer, before he was promoted to city manager in 2018.

During his time at GHD, Perry worked on the Humboldt Bay Trail North under a contract with the city of Arcata. "I get a smile on my face every time I walk down it," says Perry, who also lives on the outskirts of the city, with his children attending Arcata schools.

"Merritt Perry has worked for the city in the past and has a good understanding of Arcata since he lives within the area," says Vice-mayor Alex Stillman.

Perry has been vocal about his "excitement for the new change," and commended the city in an interview with The Ferndale Enterprise, saying "[Arcata] has never been afraid to try something new." 

In making the move north, Perry will go from working in one of the county's most politically conservative cities to one where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans six to one, according to the most recent voter registration data from the California Secretary of State's Office. But Perry says a city manager's job is really following the city council's direction and working with residents to meet their needs.

"You can understand what the values and community priorities are, and once you have a good sense of what those are, you can start to work on projects that align with those goals," says Perry.

Perry says he comes in with two key priorities he wants to focus on: addressing the city's affordable housing shortage and improving the city's relationship with its local businesses.

Homelessness is a big challenge in Arcata. With more than 1,700 houseless people within Humboldt County, Arcata makes up about 400 houseless residents compared to Fortuna whose houseless population is less than 70 residents. And those working in the city to address homelessness fear the problem will get worse, noting that operational costs are rising as state funding cuts loom.

"We fear we will see more people impacted, both people experiencing homelessness long term and those who are newly experiencing homelessness," said Arcata House Executive Director Darlene Spoor, in an email to the Journal.

Though Perry says he understands that housing challenges will "take more of my time than it did in Fortuna," he says he's eager to work with the council members on the matter.

"I think there's going to have to be an ongoing effort that has to happen with homelessness and housing, and how do you meet those challenges dealing with mental health and addiction," he says.

Perry says another focus of his is on local business. According to DataUSA statistics, Arcata is home to almost 200 businesses that employ almost 10 percent of the city's workforce. Retail accounts for nearly 16 percent of the city's jobs, with the food services and accommodations sectors providing another 10 percent.

Elijah Grant, the former owner of The Arcata Gallery, says he wants to see the city do more to support local businesses.

"If any city official wants to build trust with local business owners, they need to get people into the businesses to spend money," Grant says. "The biggest problem is that downtown Arcata is not seen as a shopping district."

Perry says he understands that Fortuna and Arcata, while different, function relatively the same, explaining his approach to helping the local business community.

"One of the things I was able to learn is how the different groups work together," he says. "Whether it's the chamber of commerce or local businesses, it's really important to establish good working relations with all sectors of the community."

Another key difference Perry will face is the increased diversity in the area. Though both cities share significantly large Hispanic communities, Black and Asian residents make up about 6 percent of Arcata's population, while just 3 percent of Fortuna's.

"I think it will be important for Merritt to connect with some of these organizations and efforts, and for him to be involved in continuous learning and growth as a leader in this dynamic town," says Interim Network Coordinator for Equity Arcata Maxwell Hawk. "It's important to continue to uplift them with the resources that we have as institutions."

Perry says being accessible to the community is a goal, noting he's created a first-100-days plan to hear about community issues.

"I think a lot of the people of Arcata take a broad view of the world, and I think they expect that from the city," he says. "They want to know if the city is aligned with their values and if city values are the same thing."

Understanding those same values is important to Perry, because he's an Arcata local. He says that back when he was going to what was then Humboldt State Universoty for his engineering degree, he worked across the street from Arcata City Hall at Safeway. Now he's working in the same neighborhood, but in a very different place.

"It's interesting to reflect on time," says Perry. "I have a lot of experience now. In a way, it's coming back home and is an exciting new challenge."

Kelby McIntosh (he/him) is a California Local News Fellow placed with the Redwoods Listening Post (RLP). The California Local News Fellowship is a state-funded initiative to support and strengthen local news reporting. Kelby's reporting comes courtesy of a partnership between RLP, North Coast Journal Inc., and Access Humboldt. For more on the California Local News Fellowship, visit fellowships.journalism.berkeley.edu/cafellows.