Irwindale Fires Redevelopment Official Linked to Raiders Deal

IRWINDALE —  The redevelopment consultant who helped make Irwindale a fiscal powerhouse and lured the Los Angeles Raiders into an agreement to relocate to one of the city’s gravel pits has been ousted from his lucrative position.

Frederick P. Lyte, who claimed credit for bringing in excess of $600 million in redevelopment projects to Irwindale over the last 12 years, was fired after a 45-minute closed-door meeting of the City Council Tuesday. The consultant stormed out of the special meeting after the council terminated his contract and offered an agreement that Lyte said would have drastically cut his pay.

A secretary at Lyte’s Pasadena office said the consultant, who was out of town, would not have any further comment.

Charges of Vendetta

At the meeting, Lyte accused Mayor Pat Miranda of mounting a vendetta against him and trying to sabotage the Raider deal. Miranda did not return several phone calls for comment.

Lyte’s departure leaves only one member of the city’s negotiating team, City Manager Charles Martin, to work with the Raiders to bring the 18-month-old deal to fruition.

In May, Xavier Hermosillo, a city spokesman who also played a part in the negotiations, was fired by the council. Hermosillo and the city are engaged in a dispute over $54,000 that Hermosillo said is owned him for work on the $115-million stadium project.

Raider Senior Executive John Herrera said the team was apprehensive about Lyte’s firing and the city’s apparent upheaval, but he reiterated the team’s commitment to relocate to Irwindale.

“It’s a bit disconcerting that two of the three people who negotiated with us are no longer part of the team,” he said. “Hopefully, Irwindale will move ahead without any difficulty. It’s not a positive thing when you lose continuity.

“What Irwindale does with the people who work with and for the city we have no control over.”

Power Struggle

Lyte’s departure ends an internal power struggle between himself and Miranda, who in the past had complained that the consultant was being paid too much, reportedly an average of $500,000 a year. Miranda was joined by Councilmen Joseph Breceda and Sal Hernandez in voting to end Lyte’s consulting contract. Councilman Richard Chico dissented and Councilman Robert Diaz abstained.

Under his old contract, Lyte was paid 3% of the assessed valuation of the redevelopment projects for which building permits were issued. The new contract the city proposed would have lowered the figure to 1% and would have placed additional restrictions on the projects for which Lyte could receive payment.

Under the proposed contract, Lyte reportedly would have to forfeit up to $1.5 million in fees for the possible Raider’s acquisition.

Lyte’s ouster coincides with questions about $31,000 in fees that Martin has accepted from the city.

Last December, Martin agreed to pay a $400,000 civil fine to avoid criminal prosecution on charges of conflict of interest when he took commissions on six bond issues that he recommended the City Council approve. In addition to the fine, he agreed to stop taking commissions or bonuses for future bond sales he recommends to the city.

An article in the Los Angeles Herald Examiner last week questioned the propriety of the $31,000 payment in light of the settlement with the district attorney’s office.

Fees for Legal Services

According to Martin’s attorneys, the money was payment for legal services Martin provided in his role as city attorney in fighting a lawsuit by Los Angeles City Councilman Ernani Bernardi and Irwindale resident Fred Barbosa to halt the Raiders deal.

The payment was approved by the City Council in April and came from a trust fund set up to handle legal expenses connected with lawsuits arising from the deal.