An email the Salt Lake Chamber sent last year inviting a national rail company to sit on an “exclusive” committee of businesses seeking to help shape the future inland port development has renewed concerns over transparency and conflict of interest on the part of the board’s leaders.
Central to the issue is whether Derek Miller’s dual role as the chairman of the Inland Port Authority Board — where he influences policy and agendas and speaks often on behalf of the board — and as CEO of the Salt Lake Chamber constitutes an unethical conflict of interest and if the chamber’s request for payment in exchange for a spot on the committee encouraged “pay for play.