Campbell’s last day in Roanoke will be Sept. 27, but he will still reside in town. The city appointed Assistant City Manager Cody Petree to serve as interim city manager until the position is filled.
“It is a great opportunity and it is very exciting,” Campbell said. “[Corinth has] a lot of economic development underway, and they need someone with the experience to come help them. It is tough to leave here. I've been here almost 10 years. I love this city, and I love this staff.”
Petree has worked for Roanoke for more than 18 years. He started his career working for the city of Watauga for five years.
"I am most excited about the opportunity to work closely with our amazing city staff, City Council and community," Petree said. "Roanoke is near and dear to my heart and has been a fantastic place to work for many years. I hope to continue that trend and build upon our successes while actively working to grow our community."
He said it is important for Roanoke to continue to be a "great place to live, dine, shop and play."
"We want our citizens to not only enjoy the city on a daily basis, but we also want to be a destination place for surrounding residents and visitors alike," Petree said. "We will continue to strive to maintain the unique, eclectic, small-town charm in the downtown area with smart, selective growth. I'm also excited to explore adding additional amenities throughout the city to benefit residents, businesses and visitors."
Under Campbell’s guidance, the city saw the Oak Street business district nearly double in size while also beefing up public safety. The fire department has increased its minimum staff requirement by an average of two workers per shift, he said.
He also helped get the ball rolling on a new police station in the works. Part of that included voters passing a ballot measure to create a crime control district, which moves the money for the police department out of the general fund.
“Roanoke has always been safe, and we need to make sure we don’t get behind,” Campbell said.
A new City Hall was constructed and opened in 2018 as well, bringing many city operations under one roof, Campbell said.
“It has been amazing really, a great journey for me,” Campbell said. “I worked with incredible staff and elected leadership with a lot of vision. It was growing when I came here and a lot of great things were happening, and I felt it was part of my responsibility to keep it going and keep it strong.”
