Woodbury County, LEC Authority approve $3 million settlement to end LEC litigation

The Woodbury County Board of Supervisors and the Woodbury County Law Enforcement Center Authority voted to accept a proposed settlement resolving litigation over the county’s new Law Enforcement Center (LEC).

Jody McDougall, counsel for the LEC Authority, summarized the agreement and the litigation background and told the boards the net proceeds to the authority and county would be about $3,000,000. “So the authority and county's net settlement proceeds would be $3,000,000,” McDougall said, outlining that Goldberg and Entroba would pay funds into the mediator’s trust and that, separately, retainage of $3,064,000 would be released to Hausman once certain subcontractor claims were dismissed.

McDougall described litigation timelines and the practical trade-offs of settling: a 30-day period would begin upon acceptance of the project as final to allow Hausman to resolve subcontractor claims (about $2,500,000 in claims were on file), after which the county would release retainage and the settlement funds would be distributed. “Litigation is costly. It’s time consuming,” McDougall said, recommending the settlement to avoid protracted trial preparation and expenses.

Board and authority members spoke in favor of the resolution, calling the proposed deal a pragmatic step to conclude years of delay and expense. Following public comment from contractors and residents, the county passed its resolution by roll call (Aye: Bittinger, Carper, Dietrich, Kung, Nelson). The LEC Authority then adopted a matching resolution and adjourned; the authority vote was recorded as 3-0.

The resolution’s immediate effect is to accept the project as final, trigger subcontractor-claim deadlines and distribute settlement funds after fees and remaining small bills are paid. If any party refuses the settlement, McDougall cautioned, litigation would continue toward trial in May 2027.