Some refunds are a lot less fun then others.

The Maple Valley City Council was informed Monday they were on the hook for more than $400,000 because of an error made in 2005.

The council in 2005 approved a resolution establishing a special assessment district at Four Corners. The problem was the staff at the time did not follow state law when crafting the resolution and now the city will have to refund $462,757 and will not be able to collect about $500,000 from the Fred Meyer project Powell Development is planning at Four Corners.

About $390,000 of the money that has to be refunded will be paid back to Kite Realty Group Four Corner Square and the balance to SBI Developing, which owned the Woodridge plat.

The problem with the ordinance is the city had to adopt legislation requiring street improvements in the area to be assessed before forming a special assessment district.

The issue was brought to the attention of the City Attorney Christy Todd. She sent her legal analysis and review to the city’s insurer, Washington Cities Insurers Authority. The insurance organization sent the issue to Dale Kamerrer, an attorney with the Tumwater firm Law, Lyman, Daniel, Kamerrer and Bogdanovich, for a second review.

Kamerrer told the council members Monday the city attorney’s legal review was correct and the members would have to repeal the resolution and refund the money.

The council unanimously voted to repeal the resolution.