COMMISSION ADVANCE: Key West Poised to Award $131K Water-Quality Monitoring Contract to Stantec
Critics of the program and its lack of enforceable standards are favorable towards Stantec not only for their expertise, but also for its ability to advise the City Commission on water policy.
Key West commissioners are set to vote Thursday on awarding a $131,531 contract to Stantec Consulting Services Inc. to launch a new Water Quality Monitoring Program — a decision shaped as much by politics and perception as by science and procurement.
Commissioner Sam Kaufman and local environmental advocates from Keys Last Stand have pressed the city to strengthen the contract’s enforcement language before approval, arguing that the program must fully comply with Chapter 80 of the City Code — Key West’s landmark water-protection ordinance.
“Water quality is a matter of vital importance to our residents, our economy, and the future of Key West,” Kaufman wrote Oct. 5 to Interim City Attorney Kendal Harden, requesting a legal review before final execution.
How We Got Here
The City issued RFP #25-020 on Aug. 16, 2025, seeking a firm to design and implement a comprehensive water-quality monitoring program “in accordance with the requirements set forth in Chapter 80.”
Six firms submitted proposals before the Sept. 17 deadline:
Ecological Associates Inc.
Hydrologic Associates USA Inc.
Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium
RES Florida Consulting LLC
Stantec Consulting Services Inc.
UES Professional Solutions LLC
The selection committee met Sept. 22 to score the bids. Stantec ranked first overall with 311 points (77.75 percent), followed by Mote Marine (291 / 72.75 percent) and RES Florida Consulting (288 / 72 percent).
A staff memorandum from Procurement Manager Lucas Torres-Bull, routed through City Manager Brian Barroso and Finance Director Christina Bervaldi, recommends awarding the contract to Stantec. Funding is allocated from the Adaptation and Sustainability Fund (Fund 108), Department 3702 – Water Quality and Conservation.
Stantec’s Role in Key West
Stantec, a multinational engineering and environmental consulting firm, already serves as a trusted technical partner to the City of Key West. It has previously managed storm-water modeling, flood-resilience planning, wastewater system assessments and climate-adaptation projects used to secure state funding.
City staff describe Stantec as “technically experienced, fully credentialed and immediately deployable.” Its team holds FDEP-certified field and laboratory credentials and already has a framework in place to advise the City Commission directly on water-quality policy — a capability no other bidder offered.
A Close Contest — and a Shift in Direction
Many local observers expected Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium to be a shoo-in for the contract, citing its long record of coral-restoration work in the Keys and deep ties to the Walsh family, owners of Pier B, the city’s primary private cruise-ship pier.
But Mote’s finacial dealings have come under scrutiny in the Florida Keys and elsewhere in recent years, and its perceived alignment with cruise interests raised eyebrows among environmental groups.
Critics note that after a previous monitoring program found that a single cruise-ship transit stirred as much turbidity as a named storm, the City abruptly terminated its partnership with the College of the Florida Keys (CFK), whose researchers had produced those findings.
The City’s subsequent procurement efforts — including this RFP — have been viewed by many as an attempt to find a more cruise-industry-friendly contractor while maintaining the appearance of compliance with Chapter 80.
“During the initial RFP process, City representatives suggested that missing requirements could be ‘worked out’ later. This approach is unacceptable,” wrote Keys Last Stand in a Sept. 19 letter to the Commission. “True accountability requires clear, enforceable standards.”
Evaluators praised Stantec’s quality-assurance plan, field protocols and ability to begin work immediately. Its high technical scores offset a narrower advantage in cost.
Mote Marine actually rated slightly higher in cost-effectiveness but was ineligible for local-vendor preference under § 2-798 for lacking a Key West Business Tax Receipt within 30 miles.
Resolution 25-4446 — Award and Authority
Resolution 25-4446 authorizes the City Manager “or their designee” to negotiate and execute the one-year contract with Stantec, with four optional one-year renewals. The total potential value exceeds half a million dollars over five years.
The resolution asserts the program aligns with FDEP standards and will allow the City to “systematically assess water-quality conditions, track environmental trends and support informed decision-making.”
Kaufman’s Proposed Amendments
In his Oct. 5 letter to Harden, Kaufman requested that the City Attorney’s office evaluate and strengthen the contract by:
Mandating testing in the shipping channel to measure turbidity and ballast-water impacts from cruise vessels.
Coordinating with the Florida Department of Health to avoid redundant testing.
Re-establishing collaboration with the College of the Florida Keys (CFK) for comparative analysis and peer review.
Requiring quarterly public reports summarizing data and policy recommendations.
“The City should ensure the strongest possible standards and legal clarity before execution of the final contract,” Kaufman wrote.
Environmental Advocates Demand Accountability
Keys Last Stand’s Sept. 19 position letter reinforced Kaufman’s concerns, urging the City to make turbidity monitoring in the cruise channel non-negotiable and to codify clear reporting requirements to state and federal agencies.
The group cited F.A.C. 62-302.530(70), noting that turbidity exceeding 29 NTUs above background legally constitutes pollution, and warned that failure to monitor properly “wastes limited resources” and undermines Chapter 80’s purpose.
Last Stand pointed to 2024 CFK data documenting 32 cruise-related turbidity events, one six times above the EPA standard — none of which were reported.
“The health of our nearshore waters is the foundation of our economy, our culture and our way of life,” the group wrote. “This contract must deliver strong, enforceable protections.”
Policy and Political Context
The Stantec award represents a turning point in the City’s post-cruise-referendum environmental policy. After years of community conflict over harbor sedimentation and state pre-emption of local cruise limits, Chapter 80 remains Key West’s primary mechanism for accountability.
Environmental groups argue the current contract prioritizes administrative control over independent science. City Hall’s pivot away from the College of the Florida Keys — after the college’s 2022 report equated a single cruise ship’s turbidity impact to that of a tropical storm — marked a clear change in direction.
Critics say this procurement reflects that shift, describing it as a politically safer, cruise-friendlier approach that trades direct enforcement for managed oversight. Stantec’s technical capacity and policy-advisory framework make it the preferred choice among staff — but also, according to some, the most carefully neutral.
What Happens Next
The Key West City Commission meets at 9 a.m. and again at 5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 9, at City Hall, 1300 White Street. Agenda item 39 will be discussed during the morning session, meaning that concerned citizens will have to miss work in order to have a say. The meeting will also be streamed live on the city’s website.
This is an evolving story. Watch this space.