MADAWASKA – A special town meeting will be held Dec. 15 to get residents’ approval for the payment of annual dues to the Northern Maine Development Commission, for a planning grant and for seed money for a weekend festival next July.

The Wednesday meeting will be held at 7 p.m. at the Madawaska High School Library.

Residents will decide if the town will be allowed to spend $12,631 from its fund balance to pay the annual dues to the NMDC. The matter was overlooked during the annual town meeting last June.

The planning grant involves $7,000 that would be spent for creating an application for a Community Development Block Grant for Wisdom House, a privately owned boarding facility.

Wisdom House, owned by James Roy and located near the Madawaska town office on St. Thomas Street, needs extensive work to continue in use.

Finally, the town meeting will decide if selectmen can use $10,000 from its Urban Development Action Grant interest money to help fund the “Rock the Valley Concert” next July Fourth weekend.

Selectmen had a long discussion Tuesday night on whether the money should be a loan to the committee, or simply a grant. Organizers of the event hope the concert will be an annual summer event in Madawaska.

Selectmen are looking at the event as an economic development tool. The grant would allow the concert to happen, and money raised during the weekend could fund the next year’s event.

There was also discussion on a proposal by organizers that a percentage of the profits be used by a local swimming pool committee for development funds.

The rock concert committee wants to bring “April Wine” to headline the weekend, according to spokesman Mark Albert. The rock band would perform, and other activities, including a chemical free night for young people, would be scheduled.

There was concern that a grant to the committee could open the door for other such requests. The line could become long, Selectman Chairman Vernon Doucette said.

The money for the grant would come from the town’s UDAG fund. The fund is created from payments made by Fraser Papers Inc. for a federal loan given it years ago.

The loan payments to the town would be used as a revolving loan fund for economic development projects.

The fund is now worth about $650,000, including some outstanding loans. Fraser is in the last 18 months of paying into the fund. Outstanding Fraser payments are valued at about $200,000.