ISLAMORADA -- After some six months of speculation, the village finally has a signed contract giving it the option to purchase the Islamorada Tennis Club property to house a central sewer plant.

But in a surprise move, the village has also signed an option contract on an Upper Matecumbe Key property that would be an alternative plant site.

"From an engineering perspective the Upper Mat site might be a better site," Village Manager Ken Fields said of the 1.8-acre property located at mile marker 80.6, just across the highway from Watermark Marina.

The long-awaited option contract on the Islamorada Tennis Club was finalized on Oct. 7 at a price of $1.275 million. The purchase would include the 1.6 acres of cleared property that is presently home to the six-court tennis facility as well as 24 acres of mangroves and submerged lands.

If the acquisition were to get final approval from the Village Council, plans would call for the plant to be sited on the cleared area, while the rest of the property would serve as mitigation for hammock the village cleared during construction of the north Plantation Key sewer plant in 2005.

Over the past six months Fields has argued staunchly that the ITC site would be good for a plant because of its size, its land that could go toward mitigation and its relative remoteness from residential neighborhoods. But the proposal has outraged many residents of Lower Matecumbe Key as well as members of the tennis club, who have said that such an acquisition would deprive the island of its only recreational facility while jeopardizing sensitive marine habitats and the species that depend upon them.

Lower Matecumbe property owners Sally and John Eaton have hired Miami attorney Allen Pegg to fight the potential acquisition. They also hired a biologist to prepare a report on the site. In August, Curtis Kruer concluded that situating a sewer plant on the mile marker 76.8 property would cause "irreparable environmental damage."

On Monday, Pegg said he's pleased that the village is looking at other options.

But he added that his clients plan to sue if the Village Council decides to go forward with the tennis club purchase.

"Between now and the vote we are going to do everything we can to convince the council members and Mr. Fields himself that this is not an appropriate site for a sewer plant," Pegg said, citing environmental concerns.

Though Fields says the tennis club remains a strong option for the village, it's now just that: an option.

He said there likely would be no reason for the village to purchase both the tennis club and the Upper Matecumbe site, which is commonly known as the Cockerham property for its previous owners.

The manager added that the Cockerham property, which is home to a small office building that houses three tenants, including a landscaping business and a pavers business, only became available within the past month. Under the Oct. 8 contract, the village would acquire the site for $1.19 million.

Unlike the ITC, the Cockerham site does not have undisturbed habitat and, therefore, could not be used by the village as mitigation for its clearing on north Plantation Key. But the site is closer to higher-density areas, meaning that operating costs associated with pumping sewage would be lower than if the central plant were on Lower Matecumbe.

The village has until Nov. 20, two days after a council wastewater workshop that Fields hopes will be decisive in determining the direction of Islamorada's central sewer program, to go forward with the proposed Upper Matecumbe purchase.

The village has 120 days, until February, to close on the ITC site.

The village estimates its central sewer project will cost $134 million. The council has yet to decide whether the town will pump waste to Key Largo or treat it all in Islamorada. The village is also mulling turning the whole project over to a private contractor.

rsilk@keysnews.com