When will Waterloo do something about those burned houses? Your Call the Courier questions

Q: The city of Waterloo has given Baltimore Fields to a developer. Why is there nothing happening at Baltimore Fields?

A: According to Noel Anderson, the city’s community planning and development director, there should be active pouring of the new street at the site and water lines and infrastructure have already been installed. He said we should see homes being constructed soon.

Q: In the WNBA, I’ve noticed a lot of players will have one leg covered. I was just wondering, is that a fashion statement or is it due to injury?

A: It is a combination of both. Some basketball players do it for style or as an homage to players who started the trend such as A’ja Wilson. It also serves as a compression sleeve to help blood flow. They are also made of moisture wicking material which can help with sweating.

Q: When is the city of Waterloo gonna do something about those burnt houses sitting there all charred and just falling apart? The fires have been quite a while and they’re just sitting there.

A: The city is working on trying to get the property owners to demolish or repair the buildings. If that doesn’t happen, the city will look to acquire the homes through the state’s 657A process to allow the city to own the property and then work to redevelop the sites. The city is also working to do an emergency demolition for safety until one of those options can be accomplished, according to Noel Anderson, the city’s community planning and development director.

Q: Are there any part-time teachers in the Waterloo Community School District? Is part-time teaching allowed?

A: Yes. Sam Kreassig, the district’s human resources director, said fewer than five teachers are employed at less than the amount of hours for someone to be considered a full-time teacher and the goal is to staff the buildings with full-time teachers.

Q: I see data centers in the news all the time. What exactly is a data center?

A: A data center is a building that houses infrastructure that processes and stores digital information. This can include computer servers, routers and generators. This technology is used to store information such as our personal photos and files in “the cloud” – or a network of remote servers that store data, deliver faster streaming and web services on our phones or smart devices, or to produce things created by artificial intelligence.

Q: Is Waterloo Community Playhouse doing Shakespeare at the Arboretum this year? If so, what are the dates? In past years they’ve done it in mid to late June, but I haven’t seen anything about it this year.

A: The Shakespeare in the Gardens series did not happen this season due to a hectic schedule, Anita Ross, WCP’s executive director, said. They plan on doing it next year with Shakespeare’s “Richard III” and are doing a Shakespeare Showcase at the Playhouse in the next few weeks.

Q: How many kids does Ashley Hinson have?

A: She has two sons.

Q: Waterloo Mayor Dave Boesen and the City Council when running for office stated they would start on the new budget as soon as they got in office. This is August. What happened to the budget? Are they done with it? Are they started on it?

A: The budget process is a yearlong task. Mayor Dave Boesen said an internal review committee has been established to examine departmental operations, staffing levels, workload distribution, management structure, workflow efficiencies, revenues and expenditures, and opportunities to reduce costs or improve the delivery of city services. The city will also analyze property valuations, revenues, expenditures and changes in state law that may affect budgets and property taxes. The budget is formally adopted in the spring.

Call (319) 291-1550 to leave a voicemail or email newsroom@wcfcourier.com with your question.