UTA board gives conditional OK for sale of Clearfield property for assembly plant

UTA board gives conditional OK for sale of Clearfield property for assembly plant

(Alex Goodlett, Deseret News, File)


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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Transit Authority trustees gave conditional approval Wednesday to the sale of property at the Clearfield FrontRunner station for an assembly plant despite concerns about a former board member's ties to the project.

"I think we just have to realize the taint is going to be there in the P.R. sense. You can clarify it all you want. You can disclose it all you want," trustee Greg Bell, a former lieutenant governor, told the UTA board.

Two members of the board, Babs De Lay and Brent Taylor, voted against going forward with the sale of some 28 acres at the station to the city of Clearfield for the Swiss-owned Stadler Rail plant as long as certain conditions are met.

Jayme Blakesley, UTA general counsel, told the board he contacted the U.S. Attorney's Office for Utah, which is currently investigating transit development projects and other issues, about the former trustee, Sheldon Killpack.

Federal prosecutors declined to share any information they may have on Killpack "citing the need to keep ongoing investigations confidential," Blakesley said, calling it "inappropriate" to draw any conclusions from that response.

But he advised the board to proceed cautiously because UTA's nonprosecution agreement with federal prosecutors "notes as core issues several things touched on in this transaction, international travel, real estate development and board ethics."

Blakesley also told the board Killpack did not appear to be in violation of state ethics laws or board policy by doing business with Stadler.

Killpack, a former state Senate majority leader is an owner of One West Construction, a company hired by Stadler Rail to do pre-construction work on the proposed assembly plant. He served on the board for less than a year in 2015.

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He had joined lawmakers and lobbyists as well as another now-former board member on a trip to Switzerland in September 2015 to meet with representatives of Stadler Rail. He also was invited to bid on a hotel project near a rail stop.

A letter read to the board from Stadler U.S. legal counsel Lucy Andre stated "executives of Stadler Rail became acquainted with Sheldon Killpack during his 2015 trip to Switzerland but commenced no business relationship with him at that time."

Andre said Stadler has not yet signed a contract with a general contractor for the construction of the new facility but has hired Killpack's company and others to do pre-construction work on the Clearfield and other potential sites.

"None of the contractors, Mr. Killpack included, stand to personally benefit from Stadler choosing one site over another," she said. Stadler officials have said they're also looking at sites near Salt Lake City International Airport and in West Jordan.

Clearfield's assistant city manager, J.J. Allen, said Killpack's involvement is "a concern for UTA, which we understand. But from the city's perspective, we're dealing with a great company and who they select as their contractor is their business."


None of the contractors, Mr. Killpack included, stand to personally benefit from Stadler choosing one site over another.

–Lucy Andre, Stadler legal counsel


Other issues raised by the board about selling the property, part of a nearly 70-acre parcel purchased by UTA in 2002, included how much Clearfield will pay and whether the city will re-zone other parcels for high-rise residential units.

"We believe this project is a win-win all the way around," Clearfield Mayor Mark Sheppard told the board during a nearly 2 1/2-hour debate. Sheppard said there can be increased public transit ridership in addition to the 1,000 new jobs expected.

But UTA estimates showed choosing an economic development option over more traditional transit-oriented development could reduce the overall property's value by some $10 million. A third appraisal of the property sought by Clearfield is underway.

De Lay, a real estate broker, said the value is "way off" because this is one of the hottest-ever seller's markets and the property has never been marketed. "Of course Clearfield wants this," she said. "Who wouldn't want this?"

Although Bell raised concerns about the conflict of interest issue surrounding Killpack as well as about not accepting bids for the property, he said the Stadler plant is a "remarkable opportunity" that shouldn't be lost.

Taylor said economic development is not UTA's central mission and questioned how selling the property to a city to turn over to a private company with no bid benefits taxpayers.

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