HOULTON – The SAD 29 board at its meeting Tuesday night approved two motions that are expected to end more than two years of litigation involving alleged faulty construction at the district’s Southside School in Houlton.

The $4.35 million school on South Street opened in the fall of 1993 to serve fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-grade pupils in Houlton. Pupils from Littleton and Monticello, which also are in the district, now go to school there.

According to the district’s complaint filed in Aroostook County Superior Court, since it opened, the school has been plagued by frozen pipes, leaks around ventilation dormers on the roof and ice above the ceilings.

In addition, the school district also claimed the heating system performs inadequately, the surface and subsurface drainage is defective, and there has been movement in concrete slabs of walls and floors.

“The school is designed and constructed in an unworkmanlike and defective manner,” the district claimed in its complaint.

Named in the complaint are WBRC Architects and Engineers of Bangor, S.W. Cole Engineering Inc. of Bangor, A.E. Flewelling & Sons Inc. of Crouseville, Carvel Co. of Portland, Foss & Sons Construction of Danforth, and United States Fidelity and Guarantee Co. of Maryland, which has an office in Auburn.

According to the complaint, WBRC designed the school; S.W. Cole performed the soil tests and did the subsurface investigation to make recommendations regarding design and construction of the school; Flewelling was the general contractor; Carvel was the subcontractor that did the heating, ventilation and plumbing work; and Foss was the subcontractor that did the site work.

A.E. Flewelling no longer is in business. USF&G was named as a defendant in the complaint because the insurance company held the performance bond for Flewelling’s performance contract, and the district claimed the insurance company was liable.

The first motion approved Tuesday authorizes Superintendent David Wiggin to accept a settlement of not less than $135,000 from WBRC, Foss & Sons and S.W. Cole.

The second motion approved calls for acceptance of not less than a $20,000 settlement from A.E. Flewelling and USF&G.

The district released Carvel Co. from the lawsuit about a year ago for a payment of $3,500, Wiggin said Wednesday.

To date, the district has spent about $100,000 on the litigation, Wiggin said, and the matter has not yet gone to court.

“This is going on the third year of litigation,” he said Wednesday. “The board decided this was by far a better course of action versus risking going to court and not getting anything.”

Wiggin said that as yet no money has exchanged hands, but all sides have agreed tentatively to the settlement.

“We’re hoping that we’ve reached a resolution of this issue,” he said.

When payment is received, he said, it would be used to do reconstruction at the school.

“It will be a major job,” he said, noting that the cost could exceed $200,000.

“The directors feeling was that before we spend anything, get whatever we can from the contractors and engineers,” said Wiggin. “We’re pleased with the settlement.”