Efforts continue to make the oft-disputed Behavioral and Social Sciences Building on the Humboldt State University campus more amenable to neighbors and the city.

HSU officials have said they need the 89,000-square-foot building planned for just off Union Street to consolidate classrooms and offices spread all over campus.

The neighborhood association and others have argued that the building would be an eyesore, that it's inappropriate for a residential neighborhood, and that it would bring in huge amounts of traffic. The city filed suit but lost its case, and an appeal was considered but never pursued.

A public meeting was held this week to go over progress so far, Councilman Michael Machi reported at Wednesday's City Council meeting.

He said possible orientations of how the building could be configured have been presented, diminishing to some degree the size of the wall that would be visible along Union Street. Other possible changes include removing many of the structures on top of the building and possibly putting them lower, so they would be less visible, Machi said.

During the recent meeting, the university took input from the community.

HSU Director of Physical Services Bob Schulz said they are in the process of trying to ascertain what would be the ideal scenario to minimize impacts to the residents, to the Campus Center for Appropriate Technology, which is located nearby, and others while still addressing the needs of the university.

He said the university is developing a "target" to shoot for as it prepares the project for bid. We won't know how close we can come to our target until the bids come in, he said.

There are a number of factors that the bids will be judged against, and each of which will be assigned a number of quality points, he said.

The builder who combines the most quality points with a fair price will likely win the bid. It may not be the least expensive offer, nor the most costly, but the bid that balances the two needs the best. These will be the ground rules we want the builder to work toward, Schulz said.

More meetings are planned for later this month. Bids are expected to be in by mid-October.