In 2022, Fort Pierce Utilities Authority and the City of Fort Pierce approved the relocation of the FPUA Wastewater Treatment Plant that is currently located on South Hutchinson Island. This aging plant, originally built for the U.S. Navy Frogmen Training area, poses risk to the vulnerable Indian River Lagoon during storms, and its relocation was proposed and denied multiple times in the previous 20 years. Local approval included approval of a $100 million bond to start the project, rate increases on wastewater customers to accommodate the bond, commitment to aggressively pursue grant funding for the remainder of the project cost, and town hall meetings to ensure that customers understood the project. Simultaneously, an international firm openly enlisted private equity takeover tactics to take over the relocation project, FPUA pursued rate increases on electric, gas, water and wastewater to allow for much-needed utility expansion projects unrelated to the WRF Relocation, and natural gas prices spiked nationwide to historic highs that caused major challenges for utility companies throughout the United States (and especially Florida, where 85% of our electricity is derived from natural gas). This presentation will give a brief overview of the communications strategy that FPUA pursued to navigate these items and communicate with our customers, ultimately gaining approval to relocate the treatment plant.