MILLINOCKET, Maine — A volunteer group hopes to begin attacking the town’s stagnant economy by launching a campaign marketing Millinocket in March, its leading members said Monday.

John Raymond, chairman of the Millinocket Industrial Development Committee, reviewed with the Town Council during a special meeting a three-page draft plan for hiring a marketing firm. Written by former Town Manager Peggy Daigle, the plan calls for receiving proposals from interested firms by Jan. 29, interviewing candidates the week of Feb. 1, and selecting a marketing proposal on Feb. 15. The campaign would launch a month later.

Council Chairman Richard Angotti Jr. said he expected the council to offer any feedback it might have at its next meeting. Councilors expressed satisfaction with the committee’s plans.

“It really is a good template to start from. It is all laid out really well,” Councilor Paul Sannicandro said Monday of Daigle’s proposal. “The timeline is key. It looks like we have something to work with that will get us going into the spring.”

Under the draft proposal, the marketing campaign will:

—- Build greater awareness of industrial development opportunities and existing industrial collaborations in the Millinocket area.

—- Build a greater awareness of the pristine quality of life and outdoor recreational assets and opportunities in the Millinocket area.

—- Create and implement a development engagement plan that will create new industrial developments and guide the local economic development efforts.

—- Develop materials to complement an aggressive marketing plan.

Millinocket’s marketing plan, Daigle said, would reach audiences online, at specific events, in town and in meetings with individual investors.

Councilors Michael Madore and Charles Pray said they wanted to ensure that the committee’s efforts didn’t contradict or overlap those of other Katahdin region economic development groups. Those entities include the Katahdin Area Chamber of Commerce, OurKatahdin.com and a group of East Millinocket, Medway and Millinocket residents headed by Rep. Steve Stanley, D-Medway.

An East Millinocket resident, Daigle said her involvement with the other groups, and their consultations with OurKatahdin group members, will help keep all development efforts coordinated.

Since the closure of the paper mill on Katahdin Avenue in 2008 — its top employer and taxpayer — Millinocket has suffered from as high as a 25 percent unemployment rate and has a $29.63 property tax rate, one of the state’s highest. The closure of the paper mills in East Millinocket and in Lincoln has further devastated the Katahdin region.

The committee formed in August when Raymond, a former councilor, volunteered to created it. Its efforts gained prominence when newly elected councilors declared in November that they needed to start attacking economic problems.

Such efforts are common with towns that have development strategies. Those that don’t, Daigle said, often have difficulty justifying the expense. Those towns also often lack staffing and leadership that understands the importance of marketing.

“It’s almost like fishing. You might get a nibble or you might not. It’s not often seen as a necessary component [of government],” Daigle said.