The architectural plans are very close to final stage. The Task Force is very pleased with the most recent round of changes and is ready to present to the House Corporation on Sunday, Feb. 26 for an official vote on the project.

The two-story building will accommodate 32 residents with an estimated 9,600 sq.ft. of finished living space: 4,134 sq ft. on the first and second floors and 1,365 sq. ft. on the lower level. Current plans include:

First Floor (4,134 sq ft): Entryway, Formal Living Room, Chapter Room, House Mother Suite, Guest Bedroom/Bath, DIning Room, Commercial Kitchen, Member Kitchen, Back Entrance Mudroom with cubbies
Second Floor (4,134 sq ft): One 8-person suite, One 6-person suite, Three 4-person suites, Two 2-person suites, shared bathroom with 5 toilets/showers/sinks. All suites provide desks, closets, adjoining sleeping room. The floor includes lots of ammenities such as built-in cubbies for extra storage and open space for hanging out.
Lower Level (1,365 sq ft) : Study Library, Lounge Room, Laundry Room, Guest Bathroom. Additional partial finished space includes 15% designed open-activity space with tiled flooring and 35% designed for storage.
Parking Lot: 9-10 spaces at rear of house; additional parking available for members 1/2 block away in reserved lot.

Late in 2010, Simpson engaged in informal discussions with a few Indianola-area Tri Delta alumnae about the potential to relocate the chapter house to a new location in order to allow Simpson to develop the land just north of the new Kent Campus Center as a northern “gateway” entrance to the campus. Discussions have progressed over the last two years with a special Task Force designated by House Corporation to work with Simpson on the design phase. After months of reviewing plan designs, the Task Force is now ready to present the final plans to the House Corporation for an official vote on the project. That meeting has been set for Sunday, February 26, 2012. Details of the meeting can be found on the New Chapter House home page.

Delta Chapter House Corporation membership includes:

• All collegiate members in good and regular standing
• All dues paying members of the Indianola Alumna Chapter
• All alumna of the Delta Chapter

The By-Laws require all members must be present to vote. A majority vote is required.

If you have been reading the alumni magazine or checking the Simpson website, you know that Simpson is in the process of constructing a new student union/student center. The new 55,000 square foot Kent Campus Center will be built on the location of the Brenton Student Center which is in the process of being torn down. [Check out the BSC Demolition Facebook Album for photos.] Simpson would like to develop the entire North C Street city block into a northern “gateway” to the campus. In order to do this, the Tri Delta chapter house will need to be demolished.

As discussion progressed with Simpson, the Delta Chapter House Corporation Board of Directors and a special Task Force Committee stepped in and have been the “official” negotiating entities working with Simpson to formalize the process, develop conceptual plans and determine the terms and conditions on behalf of the chapter.

House Corporation Board of Directors include:
President: Amy Templeton atempleton@itagroup.com
Vice President: Leslie Midget Held leslie.held@simpson.edu
Treasurer: Mandy Perkins Vanderlinden mandysue15@hotmail.com
Secretary: Jo Tebbe Chaplain chipper_1084@yahoo.com
Alumnae Adviser: Shy Warrick shyann.warrick@gmail.com
Membership Adviser: Sam Pohl spohl623@gmail.coml
Collegiate Chapter President: Annie Fullas annie.fullas@simpson.edu

Task Force Committee members include:
Co-Chair: Rose Kleyweg Mitchel rosemitchell@hy-vee.com
Co-Chair: Elodie Morrison Opstad elodie.opstad@gmail.com
Kelly Shepherd Brummond
Lindsey Jahnke Robertson
Amy Templeton

Sub-committee Members-Design Phase
Jodi Bybee
Cindy Carlson
Abby Heim
Heidi Kerndt
Dana Woods McNeill
Maxine Weinman

The most important way alumnae of Delta Chapter can help is to ensure all members are informed and educated about this potential change. If you know of sisters that have not received communications and are out-of-the-loop, please let them know about the website at www.deltachapterddd.org. It will be the central hub for communicating new information.
Another way you can help may be through financial support. At this time, we don’t know what our needs will be, but we do anticipate that some interior furnishing may be purchased by the chapter. We are currently looking for an alumnae to chair a fundraising committee.

As the project moves from the "design phase" to "construction phase," there will be a need to additional alumnae to volunteer for various committees. Ideas such as a "demolition/final goodbye event," move in day, and grand opening are events that have been suggested.

In addition, the construction phase chaired by Elodie Opstad, is going to need several alumnae willing to help. One immediate need is an inventory of current house furnishings and development of a recommendation for how to utilize these pieces (sell, move, donate).

If you are interested in chairing an "event" committee or working on the "construction phase," please let Rose Kleyweg Mitchell or Elodie Opstad know.

Simpson College will construct, own and manage the new building. Tri Delta will “lease” the building from Simpson as a chapter house, similar to the arrangement Kappa Kappa Gamma, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Alpha Tau Omega and Lambda Chi Alpha have with Simpson. Simpson will be responsible for ongoing maintenance of the interior and exterior of the building and property including landscaping and parking lot.

Simpson is leading the effort and has retained SVPA Architects from Des Moines to develop plans for the building. The expanded House Corp planning group has been very involved throughout the various stages of plan development and has provided continuous input on all aspects of the building. In the conceptualization stage, a group of collegiates from the house provided early input on their “wish list” for space configuration. Additionally, ideas were gleaned from other Tri Delta chapters that recently completed construction projects.

Simpson has proposed land adjacent to the east side of campus at the corner of Euclid and Buxton streets. This is just across the street from Barker Hall and the east campus parking lot. Parking for chapter house residents will include 9-10 spaces on property, with additional reserved parking available in a designated lot 1/2 block away. Keep in mind that at our current location, we only have nine spaces for parking.

Final details for the interior finishes are not complete. We anticipate that some details like trim, hardware and flooring will be of higher quality than in a typical residence hall, particularly on the first floor.

Furniture is also not finalized. We anticipate Simpson will provide bedroom furnishings similar to those provided in other residence halls. We do not know what will be provided for the first floor living spaces such as the chapter room. It may be that Tri Delta will want to upgrade furnishings for some areas of the chapter house and if so, a fundraising effort will be required to support this. A sub-committee will be formed to inventory furniture and accessories in the existing chapter house to determine what, if any, items will be moved to the new house. We anticipate fundraising will be needed to purchase new furniture for the first floor and lower level.

The details of a contract with Simpson are not complete. What has been discussed conceptually is essentially a swap of property. Tri Delta would give the current chapter house property and the land to Simpson. In exchange, Simpson will construct a new building for use by the Tri Delta chapter. The value/budget of the new construction shared to date by Simpson is approximately $1.5-1.7 million.

Fees have not been finalized, but we anticipate they will be similar to what chapter members currently pay. The fee structure today is based on relative costs to live in a Simpson-owned residence fall plus chapter membership fees and house maintenance. Since Simpson will own the physical structure, the house maintenance fee may be dropped or may need to be retained as a fee to cover interior furnishings. Again, none of this has been finalized yet and will need further evaluation once all costs are understood.

Early discussions with Simpson have included the potential for campus food service to be provided rather than retaining an independent cook for the chapter. Simpson is in the process to revamping its meal plan program for the 2012-2013 school year. Once that is available, we can make a final determination, but the Task Force is recommending transition to Simpson food service once the new chapter house is open.

A key advantage for Tri Delta is the release of financial obligation for the ongoing upkeep and maintenance of a chapter house.

The age of the chapter house continues to be an issue with potentially significant expenses associated with its upkeep and maintenance. Finding funding fupgrades or routine maintenance is challenging, as demonstrated in the recent sprinkler system project. Another downside of the physical structure is sleeping quarters; the open air dorm on the third floor is seen as a negative among potential new recruits. Current chapter members believe the house does not “show well” during rush in comparison to other options on campus. A new chapter house building with “modern” amenities would assist in recruitment and retention of members.

Some alumnae have expressed a concern that Tri Delta will lose control and will have no say in how the house is used since it will be owned by Simpson. In discussions with Simpson, it is important to reiterate that this is not the intention of the college. We have not finalized the contract language with Simpson yet, and are mindful of concerns such as minimum occupany requirements and summer housing. These issues will be addressed when we move into contract negotiations.

Check the website often. www.deltachapterddd.org. As new information is available, we will be posting updates to keep everyone informed.

Have a question or concern? Please feel free to submit it here and we'll do our best to answer it in a timely manner.