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E. Crichton “Kite”
Singleton, FAIA
Kansas City, Missouri
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Kite
Singleton on the Kansas City Planning Commission, 1975
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Being an advocate for good planning and
development is rewarding for an architect because you are helping
to achieve both professional and urban design goals for your
community, moreover, being advocate also pays off in the
competitive arena of business.
In 1965, my brother was supporting a fellow physician for County
Coroner and asked me to attend a fundraiser. His candidate was
successful, then ran for County Administrative Court, then Mayor.
During his terms on the Court, I successfully competed for a design
commission from the city.
When he became Mayor, he asked me to serve on the Convention and
Visitors’ Bureau, where I participated in evaluating and
selecting the site for the convention center expansion, killing an
ill-advised, early proposal. He then asked me to chair the City
Planning Commission, on which I served for five years, cutting my
teeth in the processes of City Hall, learning ropes that have stood
me in good stead for the past thirty years of architectural
practice. I could not compete for city work while on the Planning
Commission and haven’t done much city work since leaving it,
but the exposure established a valuable reputation for me as a
committed, active citizen leader.
Today I chair the Brownfields Commission, which is bringing
hundreds of thousands of state and federal revenues to reinvestment
efforts in Kansas City’s urban center. I serve on the Regional
Transit Alliance Board, which is advocating increased revenue for
public transit in Kansas City (and recently helped win a
3/8-percent sales tax increase for transit); the Downtown Council,
which has just inaugurated a Community Improvement District
property tax; the Main Street Corridor Transportation Committee,
which is working to coordinate our new Bus Rapid Transit proposal
with the interests of residents and businesses along Main Street;
and a Presbytery Board that is working to bring new uses to an
abandoned church.
Success in business is inexorably tied to your success in your
community. Service without direct pay-back is essential to get
started, and helping competent and honest candidates is the best
way I know. You can’t expect direct pay-back, but over the
long haul, exposure as an honest and committed citizen leader will
establish your position to successfully compete for business in
your community, and it will give you a personal sense of
accomplishment that is valuable.
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