Buness says it's important to meet needs of harbor users

Chris Buness, who is finishing up her first term on the port commission, is running for reelection to another three-year term.

One thing she would like the commission to take on is an in-depth review of every provision in the municipal code governing the port and harbors.

"Some sections need a deep dive" and some are out of date, she said. A thorough review could answer the question for every section of the code: "Does this still make sense for doing it this way in Wrangell."

It's all about serving the public, she said. "It's important to address the needs of harbor users."

Buness said she has learned a lot in her three years on the commission and looks forward to putting that education to greater use in a second term.

"We continue to chip away at small and large maintenance projects," she said. "It's a constant."

She is particularly eager to help develop plans for rebuilding the Inner Harbor, Reliance and Standard Oil floats, for which the federal government has granted $25 million to Wrangell for the work. Heritage and Shoemaker harbors are in good condition and now it is time to improve the downtown facilities, she said.

Another project that interests Buness is the possibility of relocating the barge ramp and freight staging area from the downtown waterfront out to the borough-owned former mill property near 6-Mile.

"My first inclination ... that would be a more practical location," she said. The move would open up a large area on the downtown waterfront for other users, though she cautioned she would want to talk with users of the barge landing facility to get their views.

Buness moved to Wrangell in 2006 at the urging of fellow Canadian Steve Prysunka, who already had moved to town to work at Alaska Crossings, a multi-week wilderness behavioral health program for at-risk teens. Prysunka helped co-found the program in 2001.

Buness, who was born in Ontario, moved in her early 20s to the Calgary area to work at an outdoor school, which is where she met Prysunka. After a stint working in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, she made the move to Alaska. "He kept bugging me to come and work for him."

SEARHC later took over Alaska Crossings, then closed the Wrangell operation in 2022.

Buness now owns and works at Stik Built Homes. "Most folks know that my business is creating housing." She said her mission is to build economical housing in Wrangell.

She is currently finishing up a floathouse build - a 14-by-34 single-story spec home that has a buyer waiting to move in. "I just wanted to learn more because I spend so much time on the docks."

Her home several years ago was a floathouse at the Fish and Game float, where she lived for two or three years before coming to land and converting the floathouse to a vacation rental and now a long-term rental.

She describes herself as a "self-propelled" water user, traveling by canoe and kayak. "I think I offer a little different perspective."

Buness is one of four candidates for two seats on the port commission in the Oct. 1 election.