Font ResizeThe Utah Transit Authority board proposes tighter scrutiny of potential conflicts after controversy erupted over a proposed state land deal in Draper.
The board is considering an amendment to its ethics code requiring that members declare potential conflicts of interest to an internal auditor, who can advise the rest of the panel.
Currently, the policy requires board members to notify the agency's general manager and attorney.
The proposal comes after a public struggle over previously protected state property in Draper that the Legislature this year authorized for trade to a private landowner for development of a commuter rail station and surrounding retail center.
Board member Terry Diehl is a consultant for the developer, and recently resigned board member Greg Simonsen is an attorney for the bankrupt landowner who is selling the parcel that then would be traded to the state.
UTA General Counsel Bruce Jones said the Draper deal did not lead to the ethics proposal -- although the issues surrounding that property do illustrate how more conflicts are arising as the agency expands its rail network along the Wasatch Front.
"As we develop projects now, there's greater and greater potential for conflicts," Jones said. "Seven or eight years ago, this would not have been a problem."
He added that conflicts also may surface when the mayors who appoint board members haggle over which city gets a rail stop. That
The Utah Rivers Council, which fought the Draper land-swap legislation because the property abuts the Jordan River, called Wednesday for a UTA investigation of board involvement in the deal.
"We need a full investigation of how the site came to be investigated," council spokesman Zach Frankel said, "and any and all board-member involvement of the selection of the site."
Jones said Diehl and Simonsen declared their conflicts to him, and he advised them to recuse themselves from board discussions of the site, which they did.
Simonsen stepped down from the board last month, citing health concerns.
The board tabled the ethics amendment Wednesday so members could rewrite it to give more guidance to the internal auditor.
