The Utility Board of the City of Key West holds their regular meetings the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month, unless otherwise noticed and/or postponed (access the calendar of events for a current listing of meeting dates). The agenda is set on the Thursday before the meeting. If you wish to address the Utility Board with your topic on the agenda, please make such requests by the Wednesday prior to the regularly scheduled Board meeting. If you wish to have an item on the agenda that requires the distribution of material and/or action by the Utility Board, please submit your request eight working days in advance of the regularly scheduled Board meeting to Keys Energy Services’ General Manager & CEO. Please contact the Office of the General Manager & CEO at (305) 295-1020 to coordinate the submission of information to be included on the agenda.
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Chair Steve Wells (Seat B) has served on the Utility Board since 2015. He was born and raised in Key West and is a retired Shift Commander with the City of Key West Fire Department. Mr. Wells is a graduate of Key West High School and serves on the board of the Southernmost Federal Credit Union. Mr. Wells and his wife Denise have raised four children in Key West.
Vice Chair Robert Barrios (Seat D) has served on the Utility Board since 2018. By virtue of his 2018 election, he holds the distinction of being the first Board member residing outside Key West city limits. Previously only residents of the City of Key West could run for a position on the Utility Board. He was born and raised in Key West and is currently the Office Manager for KW Resort Utilities Corp. Mr. Barrios previously worked for KEYS for 28 years in numerous positions, including Meter Reader, Engineering Field Representative, and Safety & Risk Officer, prior to his retirement. He is a graduate of Key West High School and Florida Keys Community College. Mr. Barrios and his wife Tanya raised their daughter Taylor in the Lower Florida Keys.
Ms. Mona C. Clark (Seat A) has served on the Utility Board since 2004 and holds the distinction of being the first elected female Board member in the Utility’s history. By virtue of her 2018 election, she also holds the distinction of being the first Board member elected by all voters within KEYS service area (Key West to the Seven-Mile Bridge). Previously the Utility Board was elected only by residents of the City of Key West. By virtue of her 2020 appointment she became the first female and first African American to serve as Chair of the Utility Board. A position she held until 2022. She is a retired educator and administrator for the Monroe County School District, where she worked for 35 years. Ms. Clark received her Bachelor of Science in Education degree from Florida A & M University and her Masters of Education/Leadership degree from the University of South Florida. Ms. Clark is a Board member of Womankind, Advisor for the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Scholarship and Birthday Celebration Committee, Mentor for the Take Stock in Children program, and member of the Catholic Daughters of the Americas. Ms. Clark also served on the Florida Keys Community College Board of Trustees from 1993 to 2001, serving as Board Chair from 1999 to 2001. She previously served as Chair of the Mayor’s Revolving Loan Fund for the City of Key West and Chair of the Citizen’s Advisory Task Force for the Florida Keys Housing Authority, additionally she is the past Sponsor/Director of Tomorrow’s Leaders Today, past Secretary for the Wesley House Family Services Board of Directors, and past Treasurer and Vice President of the local branch of the N.A.A.C.P. In 2022 Clark was awarded the Spence Vanderlinden Public Official Award from the American Public Power Association and the prestigious ATHENA award by the Key West Chamber of Commerce.
Mr. Pat Labrada (Seat E) has served on the Utility Board since 2020. He was born and raised in Key West and has worked in the local mortgage industry since 1989. Mr. Labrada is currently a Property Manager with the Community Association of Florida. He is a graduate of Key West High School, where he later served as a teacher and football coach. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Bethany College. Mr. Labrada previously served 8 years on the Monroe County School Board and was elected its Chairman in 2003. He presently serves on the Board of the Monroe County Housing Authority. He is a past President of the Rotary Club of Key West, past Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Key West Rotary Foundation, and past Chairman of the Military Affairs Committee. Mr. Labrada has also served as a Board Member of the Truman Waterfront Advisory Board and Monroe Association of ReMARCable Citizens. He is a parishioner of St Mary’s Star of the Sea and has spent countless hours in service of the youth to his community. Mr. Labrada and his wife Terri have three children and six grandchildren.
Ms. Rachel X. Oropeza (Seat C) has served on the Utility Board since 2024. She was born and raised in Key West and is currently Director of the President’s Office at The College of the Florida Keys. Ms. Oropeza previously served as Catering Director at Marriott’s Beachside Resort and a legislative aide to former Florida State Representative Debbie Horan. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from The American College for the Applied Arts. Ms. Oropeza is a Board member for the Tourist Development Council and the Rotary Club of Key West, where she has served as President and Assistant Governor. She is a founding member of the Key West Symphony Board and has previously served on the Boards for Montessori Children’s School and the Waterfront Playhouse. Ms. Oropeza has previously served as a Take Stock in Children Mentor, on the Commissioning Committee for the USS Lenah Sutcliff Higbee (DDG 123), as Fundraising Chair for Irreverent Warriors, and as a volunteer for Cooking with Love. In 2023 she was named a Woman of Integrity by Samuel’s House. Ms. Oropeza raised her daughter Victoria in Key West and has two grandchildren.