Damascus’ first full-time town manager looks to retain businesses and residents

After spending nearly 30 years as a successful entrepreneur in Atlanta, Chris Bell has been hired as the first-ever town manager for the town of Damascus, a Southwest Virginia trail town of almost 800 residents known for its adventurous, creative, yet relaxed, lifestyle.

“We are very excited to have a full-time town manager. Damascus has needed this for years,” said Katie Lamb, mayor of Damascus. “Chris Bell is a pleasure to work with, and I think together, we can and will do great things. He has already proven to be an asset.”

According to Lamb, the Washington County town had previously contracted with the Mount Rogers Planning District Commission, allowing Gavin Blevins, planning director for the commission, to serve as part-time manager from 2014 until earlier this year.

“There’s so much activity now in the town that it just makes sense to shift the daily operations to a full-time town manager — someone who can stay on top of administrative duties. The transition has been seamless,” said Lamb.

“We pivoted to a full-time town manager because the need is evident. We have two more parks than we used to have, and there are programs in place that require more attention.”

Lamb explained that the town recently was awarded a Community Development Block Grant from the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development to substantially rehabilitate housing within the corporate limits of the town. The town is in phase 2 of the program.

“So, definitely there was a need for a full-time town manager,” she said. “And it’s in the budget moving forward to have this town manager.”

The town has earmarked $62,400 for the position in its budget of just under $2.3 million.

Bell said the new job offers him a welcomed change of pace. He’s calling his career move “the second chapter” in his life after owning and operating his own audio-visual integration business since the late 1990s.

“I’d had enough of technology and the corporate world and wanted to do something different during the second half.”

Four years ago, Bell and his wife, Marianne, bought a getaway cabin in Damascus, often escaping for short vacations from the rat race of Atlanta. The couple took a leap of faith in 2020 when they decided to sell the business and move to the trail town that had stolen their hearts.

Bell said the move also will allow the couple, who have five children, to be closer to their youngest son, who is in the Corps of Cadets at Virginia Tech. “It’s just so beautiful here. We enjoy the people and all the amenities the area has to offer.”

The new town manager said he’s ready to tackle the challenges of managing the small Southwest Virginia town, developing direction and structure where needed.

“It’s a lot like running a business,” he said. “There are a lot of moving parts no different from the small business I maintained. It’s a lot of fun. I’m enjoying it.”

Bell assumes the day-to-day responsibilities of overseeing the administrative needs of the town that roughly covers a square mile and serves a population of approximately 750 people.

“That’s what makes the job interesting. I might deal with an IT issue in the morning and then turn around and help a resident with a zoning request later in the day.”

In addition to overseeing four employees in his office, Bell will work in conjunction with the public works and police departments.

“I feel this job is my way of giving back and allowing me to immerse myself in the community and help pave the way,” he said. “There are some great ideas Damascus has developed over the years, and now it’s time to execute some of those.”

Bell said he will focus on two primary goals as town manager in an effort to retain businesses and people in town.

The first is to fill up storefronts on Laurel Avenue in the downtown area that have become vacant in the past few years. He estimates at least seven stores are empty now.

“We need to attract more businesses downtown for the benefit of our residents and our tourists.  We want our tourists to stay — not just come ride a bike for three hours and leave town,” he said.

“We need things to do and places to eat and shop, not just for the tourists, but for the residents, as well.”

Until recently, people were accustomed to walking to businesses in town for their various needs, he said.

“The dollar stores have left; two of the three banks are gone; and people have commented to me that there’s no longer a pizza place in town.”

Bell said he will look for cooperative grants and funding to help refresh storefronts and improve infrastructure as a way to attract more businesses.

His second goal is to help workers and young families obtain more affordable housing. “We’re landlocked. We have Mount Rogers National Recreation Area and Cherokee National Forest surrounding us, which prevents us from expanding outside of town.”

However, Bell said he hopes to take advantage of federal and state programs that will enable the development of small densely constructed homes to be built within the town. This includes creating a workforce housing plan targeting area median-income households, he said.

“I think the town has done a great job in the last 10 years building parks, an art trail, and maintaining the pool — wonderful amenities not all small towns have.

“Geographically, it’s so unique to have two beautiful creeks converge in town — Beaver Dam and Laurel Creek. The town is surrounded by a national forest, the Appalachian Trail with through-hikers, and the Virginia Creeper [Trail] which attracts so many visitors of all ages,” Bell said.

“We tout ourselves as the friendliest trail town, and we will continue to live up to that.”

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