In this same meeting, the Mayor and several members of the board proclaimed that HART was prohibited from exploring alternatives to elevated rail because of the City Charter Amendment (Section 17) that established HART restricted them to an "elevated" system (with lots of head nodding).  Nowhere in the Charter is the word "elevated" used, but instead it is stated that: "The public transit authority shall have authority to develop, operate, maintain and expand the city fixed guideway system as provided in this article."  Other key legislative documents (Ord 07-001, Locally Preferred Alternative and Res 07-039, Minimum Operable Segment) are devoid of the word "elevated".  These documents were obviously written with flexibility for change incorporated.  

If HART is unaware of "what" it is supposed to manage, how can they manage appropriately.  The overall impression of this meeting is that HART is way over their heads and is struggling every step along the way.  We need outside help!