Federal Way has been steadily moving forward regarding efforts to boost our city’s economy.

Most recently, new Economic Development director Tim Johnson unveiled Mayor Jim Ferrell’s new economic development strategy — the city’s first economic plan. The 90-page draft called “Some Assembly Required” lays out over 30 objectives, including downtown development, replacing Weyerhaeuser when it leaves in 2016, rebranding the city and a college branch campus.

But some in the business community say there’s a kink in the plan and the ensuing conflict has caused a division between business leaders and the city.

Last week, the Mirror published a story that outlined the disagreement between the city and the Greater Federal Way Chamber of Commerce.

The city’s economic development strategy calls for four business district associations — downtown, Twin Lakes, south and north Pacific Highway. Several Chamber representatives spoke out during a recent Council meeting, questioning whether the city was preparing to compete with the Chamber in providing services for the business community. They were also concerned about whether these new district associations would cost money in the form of taxes or association fees.

Full disclosure: the publisher of this newspaper, Rudi Alcott, is on the Chamber board. However, he was not present during the Chamber’s discussion and decision to express their concerns at the Council meeting. The publisher will also recuse himself of any future discussions regarding this issue to maintain the paper’s journalistic integrity.

In an effort to seek and address the crux of the debate, I recently spoke with several members of the business community, Chamber CEO Rebecca Martin and Ferrell.

Martin and others said they are concerned that the economic development plan lacks details regarding how the business district associations would operate. In addition, they do not want the associations to segment the business community, they don’t want the new initiative to cost businesses money and business leaders want to be a part of the city’s efforts.

Ferrell wants to work with the Chamber as well.

“I think this is a miscommunication,” he said during an interview. “I really think this is going to work out — we need the Chamber.”

He also reassured the business community and Chamber that “we’re not going to charge, we’re not going to compete with you guys — we’re going to work hand and glove.”

The mayor is currently drafting a letter to the Chamber, outlining some changes to the plan. The city is renaming the business district associations to business connections to emphasize that these will not be formalized associations. Ferrell said the business connections will be a way for the city to reach out to the business community through a series of public forums in the four business areas.

But there are still roadblocks in the way of a smooth collaboration between the two parties.

After speaking with all involved, there are some obvious heated sentiments from both sides that don’t seem to be budging. I won’t go into those details in an effort not to stir a situation that needs to settle for the greater good of our fair city.

So where do we go from here?

Here are some suggestions the city — elected officials who bear the greater onus of collaborating with constituents — should consider if they expect to reach any sort of compromise going forward:

• Ensure that the mayor’s amendments to the business district associations make it into the plan by the Council’s Feb. 3 meeting. This will reassure the business community that there will be no fees involved.

• Consider compromising with the Chamber and allow business leaders to facilitate and convene the business connections for the city. The city could utilize the Chamber as a resource and a partnership is key. This would send a strong message to the Chamber that the city values its relationship with business leaders and is committed to collaborating with the Chamber moving forward.

• Convene a special meeting with the Chamber and business community to allow them to air their concerns in a neutral meeting space.

With a fairly new mayor, a new Chamber CEO and now a new economic development strategy, this city is set to build a sound economic foundation.

I urge the city to consider these suggestions to prevent business members from getting stuck on the small details, when there’s an entire plan to tackle.

Let’s get down to business.