HART Regular Meeting - February 2014 Recap

At Monday's meeting of the HART Board of Directors, HART Chief Executive Officer Philip R. Hale announced that he will retire effective May 2, explaining that he is retiring for family reasons. He offered his full assistance during the transition, and added "I'm incredibly proud of our accomplishments over the past three years and grateful to have had the opportunity to serve the people of Hillsborough County. During my tenure, HART has responded to many challenges, while always keeping in mind the best interests of our residents, businesses and all those who depend upon HART services. So, it is with a sense of fulfillment and some regret that I step away from the duties at HART to focus more on my family."

HART Board Members expressed their deep appreciation for Mr. Hale's hard work and dedication. During his tenure HART experienced some of its greatest growth and achieved historic accomplishments. Those included the launch of the first MetroRapid service in the state of Florida, high-tech innovations like the OneBusAway Tampa app, and an environmental step forward with the groundbreaking measure to transition vehicles to more eco-friendly Compressed Natural Gas.          

HART's first Compressed Natural Gas van recently arrived

In other matters, the HART Board of Directors approved several action items at its regular monthly meeting on Monday, February 3, including authorization to purchase 22 40-foot Gillig Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) powered heavy-duty transit buses, and approval to purchase one MV-1 paratransit van with mobility ramp.

During the meeting, Alvin Burns, HART Sr. Manager of Procurement and Contracts Administration, provided the Board an overview presentation of the legal services and solicitation process. The objective was to make the Board of Directors aware of the need to procure legal services for the upcoming expiring contracts in May 2014: General Litigation and Personal Injury and Worker's Compensation, and Labor and Employment. Mr. Burns discussed the various available procurement options in the solicitation process.   

The Board of Directors also received a detailed look at the authority's Fare Policy and Discounted Passes. Jeff Seward, HART Chief Financial Officer, gave a presentation on how HART staff has started to review the HART "Fare Structure and Fare Change Policy" and have identified further changes that the staff will recommend to the Board in its fare policy, along with regional fare structure. 

Next Regular Board of Directors Meetings

The HART Regular Board of Directors will take place Monday, March 3 at 9:00 a.m. at the HART Ybor Office, 1201. E. 7th Ave., in Tampa.