Huronia IX Lindsay-old town;new town

This is another in the Huronia series that offers consulting and possible improvements to a number of towns in the area around Lake Simcoe.This segment focuses on Lindsay and the sharp dichotomy between the old part of town and the new buildings in the west end of town.Many towns have a gradual separation between the older part of town and newer buildingsAlso many towns have newer buildings in several areas so the contrast is not so stark.But in Lindsay the newer construction is mostly on the west end of Kent Street (it's main artery);all in one area.
     The History of Lindsay
   Lindsay started along the Scugog river which is part of the Kawartha Lakes system.First a dam was built then a sawmill and after a grist mill.More construction developed that emanated from the corner of Lindsay and Kent Street.Building devlopped along Lindsay Street south and Kent Street westwards.Most of the original buildings are still there and there are many old brick buildings.Then a railway connected Lindsay to Port Hope and the station was built at St. Paul and King Street.Next there was another line built to Fenelon Falls.In total, there were five lines going through Lindsay which made it a pretty active town.All of the buildings and stations were in the old town.In fact, in these days there was no new town.
      Old Town
What I am referring to as the old town is contained within one square mile of the intersection of Kent Street and Lindsay Street.The Lindsay Armories is about the centre of this area.It goes north from Kent Street to about Queen Street and south to Durham or Mary Street.It goes west down Kent Street to Angeline Street where the hospital is.The hospital is relatively new but not as new as the new construction on Kent Street;the Ross Memorial hospital is transitional (not old and not new).
  This area now has a few abandoned buildings and a lot of barely used buildings.Many of the old brick buildings have not been renovated for 25 years.The products sold tend to be more traditional products and some of the styles are older as well.The store fronts need to be refurbished in a more modern style.But at this point in time very little money is being invested in this part of town.All of the new money is being invested in the west end of Lindsay.There is now starting to be more repetition of products  and competition between the outlets in the west end.
    New Town
     This part of town goes from Angeline Street (or the Ross Memorial hospital) right up to highway 35.The road is in better shape and there is new electrical service,sewers and new store fronts.There are a lot of gas stations,fast food outlets and stores selling newer products such as Mark's Work Warehouse,Staples and Midas Muffler.There are new buildings coming onstream also.Here is where the majority of retail sales are made in Lindsay.
   The Future of the Old Town
   Many older towns have found themselves in the same position.New York city along their harbour area ,Toronto in the harbour area and the old warehouse area and even Ottawa in their old market area.All these towns have decided to renovate what used to be an important and even the centre of town.Money has been invested and these areas have become rejuvenated.This is a probable solution for Lindsay also.Abandonned buildings need to be torn down and buildings underutilized need to have new functions.An earlier blog on Workathon discussed the possibility of developping a new inter and intra city bus terminal.There are many places to put a new bus terminal in the older town.Some new mid-rise(not high rise) apartment buildings could replace the older brick underutilized buildings.Even a new plaza or two with newer companies and newer products might come in here.Especially if they are built beside a mid-rise apartment building.Lindsay will have to find the money and it will take a lot of money to redevelop.
       Other Cities have done it
  As previously mentioned other cities have torn down and renovated the old and original parts of their town.These renovated ,formerly central, parts of town once changed have again become important parts of town.The warehouse district in Toronto is getting millions of dollars coming into the district.So is the market area in Ottawa.It may not look the same after new money has come into it but it will again be a functional and vibrant part of town.And this has helped all these towns grow as it will Lindsay.

The Lindsay Truck Centre- a model

 This is a possible model for a project I proposed in another blog on Econothon on Wordpress.The Lindsay Truck Centre was a name I gave to a project that would be owned and operated on the outskirts of Lindsay.It would be built on land on or near Walsh Street near the operation of Marbert Transport.This blog is a refinement of the earlier blog on Econothon.
        The Model
  This is an example only; if the city of Lindsay does go ahead with it they may decide to use some of the features shown here.First the truck centre should cover 4 to 6 acres and this entire area must be levelled and paved.The land purchased must be near or adjacent to Marbert Transport which is located on Walsh Street.This land is chosen because  Marbert is already in intercity transport.All the truck companies should operate from the same location.This makes it easier to build common facilities.First the lot must be serviced; it must have water and sewer and electrical services.Services must go into 5 to 8 units.So all services must go into each of the 5 to 8 units.The city may also install loading docks for each unit.The individual company will install it's own building for storage and loading.A new service that is springing up is fleet telematics.This service uses computers to monitor the location of trucks on the road.It can be modified to find out  when loads are ready to be moved and when trucks are ready to pick it up.A more advanced system would have the amounts of individual items needed by an individual store(such as Loblaws) and where it can be obtained most cheaply.This is ambitious and not likely to be used for some time.But I am pointing out that this type of computer operation is available.
      Specific Locations
 The main location served,of course, would be Lindsay and the main objective would be to use the truck centre to deliver a number of items (mostly food) to Lindsay stores.If it is successful then other items would be transported as well.For example, hardware and alcohol and some small car parts. Secondary locations to use this service might be Fenelon Falls,Bobcaygeon and Omemee.A transport truck could use a half load to Lindsay and a half load to Omemee.This would potentially cut the transport( and the total ) cost to both towns.        Contact Workathon for consulting advice

Just Energy shows better numbers

On August 13,2015 released it's first quarter results and they were improved from the same quarter in 2014.Just Energy is a retailer of natural gas,solar and green energy.It buys from wholesalers and sells to  retail customers.It's operational numbers are down from the previous quarter as are it's net additions.But it's net earnings are up from the previous quarter.As a result Just Energy(JE) was able to raise it's annual guidance for EBITDA by $20 million.
Operational Statistics
 Just Energy tells us that the first quarter is traditionally a weak quarter for it.That aside,revenues of $933 million were 14% ahead of Q2 in 2014.Their gross margin of $151 million was 22% higher than the same quarter in 2014.Base EBITDA of $39 million had an increase of 29% over the second quarter of 2014.The payout ratio of 63% was an improvement over 198% a year ago.While base funds from continued operations increased by 91%.Importantly long term debt was $676 million compared to $774 million at June 30,2014.
        Improvements
  Just Energy's customer base is 4.6 million residential customers which is up 2% from 2014.They made a change on the accounting of commission prepayment which they believe will improve finances.Just Energy believes their new prepayment of commissions policy will add $20 million to annual EBITDA.Net additions were down this quarter but JE believes they have made it tougher to be a customer now and are trying to get customers that"meet their profitability profile" now.
  Just Energy made a number of financial changes;they reduced their dividend in July 2014 from $.84 per share to $.50 per share.This is so they could increase their capital expenditure program.Also they have increased their credit facility.They got a sizeable amount of non-operating income this quarter and investors need to wait for next quarter to see if it is a recurring item or not.