Morro Bay gets an interim city manager 

Currently living out of moving boxes while fresh coats of paint dry in his new Morro Bay home, Martin Lomeli settles in as a Morro Bay resident and the city's new interim city manager.

Lomeli said his goals are to help the city continue with its two biggest projects, the water reclamation facility and the waterfront, and to find its next permanent city manager.

"Morro Bay is a very diverse community with difficult projects ahead. The City Council is excellent and so is the staff, but I just want to help bring the cost down of these projects and help move them forward," he said.

Lomeli was city manager for the city of La Verne for 23 years. He retired in 2010 but took interim city manager positions in the cities of Upland, La Puente, and Irwindale in the years following.

As interim city manager for Morro Bay, Lomeli will earn $76.92 per hour and is limited to working 960 hours in the next year.

He said he and his wife fell in love with the Central Coast, specifically Morro Bay, while they visited their daughter, who attended Cal Poly.

After spending a year looking for a home, Lomeli said he can now retire in the area with his wife.

"And then this opportunity came up, and I always have an invested interest in contributing into the community so I look forward to helping," Lomeli said.