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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

HART Board of Directors Regular Meeting – March 4, 2026

Hillsborough County Archive View Page — Wednesday, March 4, 2026

BodyHillsborough County, Florida

SessionHillsborough County Archive View Page

DateWednesday, March 4, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 43:04

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:17

Good morning.

0:18

I'm Council Member Gil Schussler, the Hart Board Chair.

0:22

Please silence all electronic devices for the duration of the meeting.

0:25

Welcome to the March 2nd, 2026 Board of Directors regular meeting, which is now called to order.

0:32

The meeting hybrid, the meeting format is hybrid with board members physically present at the Hart Administrative Offices, 1201 East 7th Avenue, Florida Conference Room, and participating via communication media technology.

0:45

Everybody should have a uh the uh flag in front of them if you can please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.

0:52

Join me.

0:54

I pledge the flag of the United States of America and two public for which it's one nation under ground indivisible with liberty and justice for all thank you very much.

1:08

Um staff could you take attendance, please?

1:12

Yes, sir.

1:13

Uh Director Cameron Cepeda indicated her absence.

1:17

Director Clendon Director Hobbs?

1:21

Here Director King.

1:23

Present Dr.

1:24

Knight?

1:25

Here Director Mack Alpatrick.

1:27

Here Director McCannick.

1:31

Commissioner Miller indicated her absence.

1:34

Commissioner Myers also indicated she would be absent.

1:38

Director Niebrick.

1:40

Here Chair Schisler.

1:45

Director Smith.

1:46

Here.

1:49

Director Vieira.

1:52

Director Williams.

1:58

Commissioner Wolfson indicated he would be absent.

2:01

Oh, and then I do see uh Director McCannick.

2:03

Are you uh could you announce that you're here?

2:07

I I am here.

2:08

Thank you, sir.

2:09

And you do have a quorum.

2:11

Very good, thank you.

2:11

Is that feedback something that I did or you okay?

2:16

All right.

2:16

Um next is public comment.

2:18

We'll start with a statement from board council, Miss Jan McClay.

2:21

Welcome to town.

2:22

Good morning.

2:25

I love my button pushing habit there.

2:27

Um members of the public have the right to speak on any relevant issue during the public comment process.

2:33

However, certain items may be rooted in contract, pending legal recourse or prohibited by the board's policy, which prohibits involvement by this board in the normal employer employee relationship between the CEO and the other employee or employee from union from the union of heart.

2:51

While the public could address those matters, board members are advised not to discuss them during this meeting.

2:56

Thank you very much.

2:58

Thank you, Ms.

2:58

McClane.

2:59

Um, the heart board of directors welcomes comments from citizens about any issue or your or concern.

3:05

Your opinions are valued in terms of providing input to the board members when addressing the board, comments shall not be directed personally against the board member or staff member, but rather directed at the issues.

3:17

This provides a mutual respect between the board members, staff, and the public.

3:21

The board has set aside a 30-minute period for public comment as stated in heart board policy 2104A.

3:28

The chair will call on the speakers by name in order that their request to speak has been received.

3:33

When addressing the ploy, please state your name and speak clearly.

3:37

Up to three minutes are allowed for each speaker.

3:39

Please refrain from any discussions on any matter brought up during public comment until after all public comments has been completed.

3:47

The I have two requests.

4:07

That's your OCC supervisor dispatcher sleeping on the job.

4:13

Right.

4:14

Um this is for words how management can be so hard with policy on the employees on the barter unit employees, but let this supervisor stretch out sleep on the job while getting paid as a dispatcher.

4:37

But kudos to the administration, just diabolic by diabolical administration here.

4:48

Horrible.

4:49

And uh the scales of justice is stacked one way.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Personnel Matters██████████████████████████████████████38%

Procedural███████████████15%

Public Transportation████████████12%

Audit████████████12%

Strategic Planning████████████12%

Pending Litigation████4%

Public Engagement████4%

Engineering And Infrastructure███3%

Summary of Proceedings

HART Board of Directors Regular Meeting – March 4, 2026

(Note: The meeting transcript references March 2, 2026, but the provided date is March 4, 2026. This summary uses the provided date.)

The Hillsborough Area Regional Transit (HART) Board of Directors held its regular meeting on March 4, 2026, at 5:00 PM at the Hart Administrative Offices. The hybrid meeting included approval of service changes from a Comprehensive Operational Analysis, acceptance of a clean external audit, introduction of the 2027-2036 Transit Development Plan, and reports from the CEO and committees. Public comment focused on employee grievances. The board welcomed a new member and a new CFO.

Consent Calendar

Approval of minutes from the February 2, 2026 regular meeting (motion passed unanimously).
Approval of the consent agenda (Action Item 6A, recommended by the Finance and Audit Committee on February 16, 2026) (motion passed unanimously).

Public Comments & Testimony

A speaker (name not provided) criticized HART management and ATU union leadership regarding an arbitration decision on hazard pay during COVID-19. The speaker read from the arbitrator's finding, alleging that union officials worked against employees.
Chantill Simpson requested board assistance to remove a B infraction from her employee record. She stated that a meeting with management on January 29, 2026, had agreed to remove a C infraction and investigate the B infraction, but no follow-up was received since February 2, 2026. She asked board members to intervene.

Discussion Items

Arbitration Decision on COVID Pay: Director of Legal Services Brenda Bailey presented the outcome of the ATU grievance regarding emergency pay. She explained that in March 2020, ATU agreed to waive time-and-a-half in exchange for guaranteed 40-hour weeks. A 2020 grievance and a 2024 class-action grievance were filed but denied. The arbitrator found both grievances non-arbitrable and lacking merit, citing clear collective bargaining agreement language and the union's failure to advance the 2020 grievance. No board action was required; the presentation was informational.
Service Changes (Comprehensive Operational Analysis - COA): Manager of Service Development Jesus Perez Garcia proposed three improvements (increased frequency on Route 46 to every 30 minutes on weekdays; on-time performance fixes for routes 7 and 9, which were late 40% of the time; an extra morning trip for Route 360 LX); three route removals (Route 24 LX, 25 LX, and HARTFlag South County) due to low productivity and high cost per ride; and schedule adjustments for routes 7 and 46 removing low-ridership trips. The changes were projected to gain 200 new rides per day and benefit over 1,900 daily riders. Resources were reallocated from removed routes. The board approved Resolution R2026-0311, authorizing implementation on June 7, 2026.
Audit Report: Lauren Strope of Cherry Becker presented the FY2025-2026 audit results. HART received an unmodified (clean) opinion on financial statements, no significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in internal controls, and clean single audits (federal and state) and management letter. The board approved Resolution R2026-03-42 accepting the audit.
Transit Development Plan (TDP) Update: Jesus Perez Garcia introduced the major update of the 2027-2036 TDP. The TDP is a 10-year financial and operating plan required by FDOT, building on the COA. Public outreach starts March 2, 2026, with a survey at hartvisionplan.com and 10 workshops across the county. The final plan will be presented to the board in November 2026 for approval.
CEO Report: CEO Drainville reported on:
- New CFO Shirley Shu Hurley (started February 16, 2026).
- Grant application for $10.4 million for final design of the heavy maintenance facility campus modernization.
- Vandalism at HART public restrooms (toilet kicked off wall twice in February; graffiti in employee areas) leading to temporary closures; investigation ongoing.
- Introduction of new ADA vehicles (2025 Ford Interceptor SUVs) to replace cutaway vans.
- Successful annual FRA interlock testing with CSX and Amtrak.
- Black History Month outreach with a special HART bus visiting schools.

Key Outcomes

Approved Resolution R2026-0311 (service changes) effective June 7, 2026.
Approved Resolution R2026-03-42 (clean audit acceptance).
Board acknowledged the TDP public outreach process; update expected in June 2026.
Welcomed new board member Rodrigo Rico Smith and new CFO Shirley Shu Hurley.
Meeting adjourned; no old or new business.

Meeting Transcript

Good morning. I'm Council Member Gil Schussler, the Hart Board Chair. Please silence all electronic devices for the duration of the meeting. Welcome to the March 2nd, 2026 Board of Directors regular meeting, which is now called to order. The meeting hybrid, the meeting format is hybrid with board members physically present at the Hart Administrative Offices, 1201 East 7th Avenue, Florida Conference Room, and participating via communication media technology. Everybody should have a uh the uh flag in front of them if you can please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. Join me. I pledge the flag of the United States of America and two public for which it's one nation under ground indivisible with liberty and justice for all thank you very much. Um staff could you take attendance, please? Yes, sir. Uh Director Cameron Cepeda indicated her absence. Director Clendon Director Hobbs? Here Director King. Present Dr. Knight? Here Director Mack Alpatrick. Here Director McCannick. Commissioner Miller indicated her absence. Commissioner Myers also indicated she would be absent. Director Niebrick. Here Chair Schisler. Director Smith. Here. Director Vieira. Director Williams. Commissioner Wolfson indicated he would be absent. Oh, and then I do see uh Director McCannick. Are you uh could you announce that you're here? I I am here. Thank you, sir. And you do have a quorum. Very good, thank you. Is that feedback something that I did or you okay? All right. Um next is public comment. We'll start with a statement from board council, Miss Jan McClay. Welcome to town. Good morning. I love my button pushing habit there. Um members of the public have the right to speak on any relevant issue during the public comment process. However, certain items may be rooted in contract, pending legal recourse or prohibited by the board's policy, which prohibits involvement by this board in the normal employer employee relationship between the CEO and the other employee or employee from union from the union of heart. While the public could address those matters, board members are advised not to discuss them during this meeting. Thank you very much. Thank you, Ms. McClane. Um, the heart board of directors welcomes comments from citizens about any issue or your or concern. Your opinions are valued in terms of providing input to the board members when addressing the board, comments shall not be directed personally against the board member or staff member, but rather directed at the issues. This provides a mutual respect between the board members, staff, and the public. The board has set aside a 30-minute period for public comment as stated in heart board policy 2104A. The chair will call on the speakers by name in order that their request to speak has been received.

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