GARDEN GROVE : Street Light Panel Wants to Disband

A citizen panel created this month by the City Council to study the city’s street lighting system may be dissolved before it begins work.

The council today will consider a request by members of the special committee on street lighting that the panel be disbanded because its work would cause an “undue burden” on city officials.

City employees would be called upon to prepare and publish the agenda for all committee meetings as required by the Brown Act, the state law that governs public meetings.

That would be taking time away from more pressing duties for city employees, committee members said.

Former Councilman Ray Litrell, a committee member, said the group had decided to review the street lighting issue as private individuals. The other committee members are Jack Schild and Tom Petrosine.

Representatives of Southern California Edison Co. and the city sit on the committee as non-voting members.

The council created the committee Aug. 2 to investigate, among other things, whether Edison was charging the city twice for some streets lights--once at a flat rate and again at a metered rate.

The committee was also expected to look into reports that the city may be paying for street lights outside city limits, and into complaints that current street lighting fees are not fair to all residents.