Mike LeBlanc is the principal of Town and Country Planning, a firm providing urban and regional planning services in South Louisiana in the form of community participation and infra-structure improvements.
He has worked on a broad range of projects over a 35 year period including comprehensive planning, rural address mapping, traffic modeling, and mixed used developments.
His skill set includes working directly with communities during the public participation process as well as technical projects requiring deep knowledge of computers and their use in planning process.
He has worked in the public sector for over 18 years as a consultant with civil engineering firms and offshore oilfield drilling as a tech contractor. In addition, he has worked in the government for 17 years as public servant for a Louisiana local government and a regional metropolitan planning organization (MPO).
He is a professional with certifications in planning (AICP) and geographic Information systems (GISP). He is currently an instructor teaching post secondary courses at the South Louisiana Community College and its Civil, Mapping, and Surveying Dept. in real estate development, geographic information systems, and computer aided design map drawing.
He has worked on a range of computer systems with a large array of software enabling him to perform diverse tasks usually associated with specialists including computer networking, database creation and data mining, technical drawing, and web site design.
He has degrees in history (BA) and anthropology (MA) as well as a diploma in drafting and design. He has published academic articles on Native Americans and monographs on the migration of Cajuns to Texas from Louisiana. He speaks Cajun French and has a deep appreciation for the ethnic diversity of South Louisiana.
=1= SKILL SETS
-1- Geographic Information System: ARC Map Database and Geography Creation;
-2- Technical Drawing: AutoCAD Architectural, mapping, civil, piping
-3- Planning: Transit, Roadway, Ped & Bike; Tax Assessment, Rural Water; Environment
-4- Graphic Arts: Adobe and Microsoft for use in Scientific, Gant, and Conceptual Document Layout;
-5- Demographics: Census, School, Public Utility, and Transportation Data
-6- Natural and Computer Languages: English, Cajun French , RPN, AutoLISP, Html, BASIC
-7- Project Estimates: Present and Future Value of Infra-Structure and Public Services
-8- Writing: Reports, Ordinances, Resolutions, Plans, Policies, Grants, Correspondence
-9- Presentations and Public Speaking: Public Planning, Advisory Committees, Lecture
=2= REGISTRATION
American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP), # 14096, since 1997
American Planning Association certifies based on education, experience and test.
Geographic Information Systems Professional (GISP), # 90996 since 2015
Geographic Information Systems Certification Institute evaluated by education, experience, and portfolio.
=3= SELECTED PROJECTS
–1– Marais des Cannes, Phase 1 (2012) : Project Management: Mixed use (residential, commercial, office) within a regional stormwater area
–2– 2020 Metropolitan Planning Organization Transportation Plan (2003): Principal Author: 30 Year Public Transportation Improvement Program, computer models, demographic estimates. Other related project include working on the the 2030 Metropolitan Planning Organization Transportation Plan and the Regional Roundabout Plan.
–3– I-49 Corridor Action Plan (2005): Principal Author: Urban Metropolitan Core Mitigation Plan (EIS) for urban freeway with an estimated cost of $1 Billion. Other additional project include working on the environmental studies related to the I49 Plan.
–4– Vermilion Parish Rural Water and Sewer Systems (1995): Infrastructure Planning: HUD, USDA Rural Development, and Louisiana DEQ Revolving Grant and Loan Programs
–5– Acadia Parish and Vermilion Parish 911 Mapping Projects (1995 & 1998): Rural US Postal Service Address System creation and mapping for the delivery of mail and emergency services.
–6– Lafayette Neighborhood Heritage Project (2012) : Community Planning: Planned a Partnership between two universities and local government to reinvest in urban core. Other related projects include planning local government funding for research leading to the recognition of an historic neighborhood, Freetown-Port Rico, and its being placed on a National Register of Historic Places by the US Dept. of Interior and the Park Service.
–7- Lafayette in a Century (LINC) Drainage Element (1999-2012): City Planning: Parishwide Drainage Planning for Lafayette Parish for the next 100 years. Related projects include planning the work performed by FEMA and US Corp of Engineers to redraw the National Flood Insurance Program Maps of Lafayette Parish beginning in 2002 to 2005.
–8–Vermilion Parish Accessibility Planning (1994-1999): Site Evaluation: Site Evaluation of public buildings (Courthouse, City Halls, Libraries, Food Stamp Office) under the American With Disability Act.
–9– Comprehensive Paperless Planning and GIS Filing System: Administration: Planning office project number classification system for correspondence, plans, books and maps.
=3=EDUCATION
- Master of Anthropology: University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky (1976-1979)
- Bachelor of History: Univ. of Louisiana at Lafayette (USL), Lafayette, Louisiana (1970-1974)
- Diploma of Drafting and Design Technology: SLCC (Lafayette Regional Technical Institute) (1994)
=4= EMPLOYMENT – Lafayette, Louisiana
-1- Instructor (4 Yr) South Louisiana Community College
-2- Planner III (1 Yr) Acadiana Plan Commission
-3- Plan Manager (16 Yrs) Lafayette Consolidated Govt.
-4- Planner (6 Yrs) Sellers and Associates, Inc
-5- Research Specialist (2 Yrs) Mader – Miers Engineering
-6- Mudlogging Engineer (10 Yrs) Petro-Log International, Inc.
=5= ACADEMIC HONORS AND PUBLICATIONS
-1- Master Thesis: Cajun Ethnicity and Migration from Louisiana Agriculture to Texas Oil Refining (1982); A community study of Cajun migrants in East Texas funded by the Ford Foundation through Projet Louisiane, a consortium of Canadian universities (York, McGill, Laval).
-2- Co-authored academic articles in Cajun ethnic migration (1978) and in Native American history (1982)
-3- Computerization of a Cryptological Methodolgy (1974) funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities – Youth Grants; A research project using mainframe computers to analyze French colonial code systems used in the 1760’s.
-4- Member of Phi Kappa Phi Honor Fraternity for Academic Excellence (1974)
-5- Joel Fletcher Scholarship (1974) research in French colonial archives at the Center for Louisiana Studies.
=6= SOFTWARE
Maps: ESRI ArcMap, AutoCad, TransCAD;
Op Sys: MS Windows; Apple OS X; Linux; Ubuntu;
Suites: MS Office; Apple iWork; Apache Open Office;
Database: Excel and TransCAD;
Graphics: AutoCad, Abode PhotoShop & Indesign;
Coding: AutoLisp;
Internet: WordPress, Mac Server; C-Panel
Updated: October 18, 2020