COLUMBIA, Va. — An online group hopes to raise $20,000 to save a tiny town.
Nearly 50 miles west of Richmond sits Columbia, Virginia.
It is the smallest town in the Commonwealth. Less than 100 people call Columbia home.
Leaders there are considering disincorporating the town, allowing Fluvanna County to absorb it.
“If you look around, our streetscapes need updating. The only services that we really provide the citizens of the town are use of the Town Hall,” Mayor John Hammond told NBC29 earlier this month. “We pay insurance on the town hall, and we keep the lights on – the streetlights. That’s about it.”
Hammond said Columbia just does not have the money to provide services for town residents.
That is where the Internet comes in.
A group called the Columbia Foundation has set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for the town.
“On August 19th, the Town Council will vote to disincorporate so that the question of dissolving the Charter will be placed for referendum on the ballot this November,” the fund page stated. “Columbia needs to hear from YOU — concerned citizens, history lovers, preservationists, and more.”
The group said it hoped to raise $20,000 in 20 days to show Columbia Town Council that “many in the Commonwealth and beyond” want to save the tiny town.
