Photo Courtesy of Vice Mayor Marlon Bolton
By Saraana Jamraj
As new mask requirements go into effect, Vice Mayor Marlon Bolton is working to make sure residents have access to the face coverings.
Bolton said he worked with a small business owner to create fashionable, functional fabric masks with medical filters for Tamarac residents in District 1 according to his email blast but has since opened it up to the entire city.
To do so, he purchased them with his personal funds, he said, to support the local economy.
To residents, they’ll be free of cost.
When the face mask emergency order went into place, Bolton found himself looking for masks online that would not be delivered until the middle of May– he worried that residents would face similar difficulties sourcing the masks.
“I had to get creative– our residents deserve a high level of service and they deserve to live in a city that is safe,” said Bolton, “A mask right now could save someone’s life, so I had to step up and do the right thing.”
He shared the plan to distribute free masks in his newsletter, where he also told residents that he was urging FPL and various mortgage companies to defer payments for 90 days in order to ease the economic strain COVID-19 has had on residents.
Distribution of the masks will begin on Saturday, April 18. Bolton plans to give out 200 that day, but will give out a thousand in total over the next five days.
“We are delivering with the help of willing volunteers from the community,” said Bolton.
He asked Tamarac residents who want a mask to call or text him at 954-275-3850, to get theirs.
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