HUNTINGTON -- Huntington city officials left for Washington, D.C., Tuesday to ask West Virginia's congressional delegation to support some key initiatives, including an effort to bring a high-speed broadband network to the region.

Mayor Kim Wolfe, three members of his administration and two City Council members drove to the nation's capital for scheduled meetings Wednesday with Rep. Nick J. Rahall, Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, Sen. Robert C. Byrd and an aide for Sen. Jay Rockefeller.

Among the issues to be discussed are dilapidated housing, continued funding of the city's Weed and Seed program and Huntington's application for a Google high-speed fiber network, said Brandi Jacobs-Jones, director of administration and finance.

Marshall University, city officials and Create Huntington are spearheading an effort to apply for a Google Fiber grant. If obtained, the grant would bring to the region an ultra high-speed broadband network that can deliver Internet speeds more than 100 times faster than what most parts of the country have access to now.

Google is planning to test the network in at least one trial location and will offer service at a competitive price to at least 50,000 and potentially up to 500,000 people. It is seeking nominations online through March 26.

Supporters say the network would be key to supporting existing research initiatives and recruiting new technology-based businesses to Huntington.

While the Google Fiber grant is seen as a key economic development issue, other concerns on city officials' minds are related to ongoing strategies to turn around city neighborhoods.

The Obama administration's budget for the 2011 fiscal year eliminates funding for the Department of Justice's Weed and Seed initiative, which helps struggling communities bolster law enforcement and create neighborhood revitalization and social support programs.

Huntington was awarded a $1 million Weed and Seed grant in 2008 to address problems in the city's Fairfield neighborhood and outlying areas. It was to receive that money spread over five years.

An audit report of the program's first full year in Huntington was positive, noting increased arrests related to violent crime and drugs and impact on housing and increased social programs. Local officials hope that funding already granted to the city will be forthcoming.

Although Capito's congressional district doesn't include Huntington, she is meeting with the group because she is involved with the Community Regeneration, Sustainability and Innovation Act, Jacobs-Jones said.

The proposed legislation would create a pilot grant program within the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to help cities with large-scale property vacancy and abandonment because of long-term unemployment and population losses.

The legislation would dedicate $100 million per year for three years to cities, half of which would have fewer than 150,000 people, according to the National Vacant Properties Campaign. The funding could be used for demolition of vacant structures, code enforcement and developing reuse plans -- all approaches that dovetail with the city's current efforts to get rid of hundreds of dilapidated structures and return them to useful purposes.

The legislation would "provide the city of Huntington with the tools needed to address one of the most significant issues we currently face," Jacobs-Jones said.

Joining Wolfe and Jacobs-Jones on the trip are Development and Planning Director Charles Holley, Police Chief Skip Holbrook and councilmen Mark Bates and Scott Caserta. The group will return to Huntington on Thursday.

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Gannett News Service Trees bloom in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Wednesday, March 28, 2007.