Volunteers urge Lane County to fund public health reserve corps after federal grant loss

Volunteers with the Lane County Public Health Reserve Corps urged the Board of County Commissioners on Tuesday to consider local funding after an EPA grant that would have paid salaries for two key positions and supported six planned resilience centers was rescinded.

A volunteer who identified themself as Frank Munkenbeck told the board: "That grant has been rescinded with the new Trump administration." The speaker said the reserve corps was formed as a medical reserve corps to assist in public‑health emergencies and disasters and that the grant had financed six resilience centers intended as places for residents to shelter or receive care when homes are uninhabitable.

Munkenbeck recounted volunteering at a Springfield memorial site during an ice storm response and described shortages of food, loss of electricity and strained ambulance resources during that event. He told commissioners the reserve corps has trained volunteers, most of whom pay for their own training, and asked the county to consider basic funding so the two paid positions — a corps coordinator and a field operations supervisor — can continue.

Other speakers during public testimony echoed the plea. Brian Hind, who volunteers with Meals on Wheels and said he is a member of the reserve corps, said the funding loss was a “gut punch” and urged the commissioners to search their budgets to find funding for two positions that coordinate 15–20 trained medical‑reserve volunteers. Mark Thompson, also a volunteer, described local impacts and urged county support to keep the corps prepared for wildfires, earthquakes and other disasters.

Commissioners did not take action on the request during the meeting; volunteers asked the board to consider funding options to keep the reserve corps active and ready.