Laurie VenzonResidence: River Run neighborhood |
When Laurie Venzon retired from Bank of America several years back, she gave up the life of a commuter 
and was ready to spend more time in the community. After a term on the planning board, she ran for Town Board in 2007 and became the first person ever elected from the River Run neighborhood.
She has established herself as a new voice on the board and, drawing on her experience at B of A, has pushed for clearer reporting, more thorough planning, and better assessments of how the town is achieving its goals. Still, she’s surprised “how differently government operates from business.”
She said Davidson already was putting great effort into planning and thinking about its future, and “that made me want to be even more a part of ensuring what we preserve what’s unique about Davidson.”
During budget discussions over the past two years, she has pushed for a careful look at town spending. “I think the economy has forced everyone – and the town is no exception – to re-evaluate their priorities,” she said. After going through that re-evaluation, “We are positioned well to weather the storm,” and in “a better position” to understand what it takes to operate town government and meet citizens’ expectations, she said.
She sometimes has raised basic questions. In 2008, when the board was discussing a proposal to renovate Davidson IB Middle School and construct a town recreation center on the site, she wondered if the town needed a central recreation center when private organizations provide similar services. She later joined the rest of the board in approving the project, which is on hold because of the weak economy and poor climate for the county obtaining financing.
At the second of the two candidate forums this month, one citizen asked candidates what kind of town spending might be worthy of considering a tax increase. Ms. Venzon’s answer was pragmatic – not a “wish list” project, but a necessity – a new fire station on Davidson’s east side. “This immediate next two years, I would dare say we may to have raise taxes for a fire station. We have not figured out yet how we are going to fund a $4 million fire station. And we absolutely have to have to have that built in the next 18 months,” she said.
She also has taken a practical approach on the town’s ownership of the local cable TV system, which was approved by the board before she took office. She said the town has successfully passed a big milestone, which is the $20 million upgrade of the system.
“Now we are positioned to have this upgraded asset and system, and we now need to make sure we can run it,” she said. The system now has a new board, she said, and “going forward, the strategic focus and goal of that system needs to be evaluated.”
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