LEWISTON – Councilors-elect got a special briefing on the Colisee, immigration and city staffing all to themselves Tuesday night.

The meeting of the 2008-09 City Council was closed to the public and the media.

Councilors-elect, questioned as they arrived for the meeting, said it was simply a chance for them to get to know the issues they’ll be expected to vote on next month – and to get to know each other.

Ward 1 Councilor-elect Thomas Peters said they needed the meeting to be behind closed doors so they can continue to have frank discussions.

“And we can’t have frank discussions with you taking notes,” Peters said. “After the inauguration, we won’t be able to do it at all. This is the only way these discussions can happen for now.”

But Peters promised that the new councilors will change once they’ve been sworn in.

“We have some ideas for involving the public in city business more than they’ve ever been involved,” he said. He wouldn’t say what those plans are, but said they’d be discussed at the council’s inauguration.

The city’s newly elected councilors are scheduled to be sworn in on Jan. 7. They began their orientation on Nov. 30, with a special meeting at the Ware Street Inn.

Those discussions continued Tuesday, with Lewiston Administrator Jim Bennett and staffers briefing the group and Mayor Larry Gilbert on the Colisee, city staffing levels and immigration.

“We’re giving them information they’ll need to make decisions, but they can’t make any decisions now. They can’t do anything until they’re sworn in,” Bennett said.

Bennett said there was no legal reason for the city to open the meeting since the councilors-elect are not yet city officials.

Bennett prepared a briefing on the city-owned Colisee and the $6.5 million in debt the city has incurred on the ice rink. The building is owned by the city through a series of quasi-municipal corporations and managed by Global Spectrum Inc. for $6,365.40 per month. The city’s contract with Global Spectrum continues through June.

Bennett said department heads were also on hand to answer questions about their departments.

“It’s just a workshop, informational in nature, and a chance to get to know each other,” Ward 3’s Larry Poulin said.

“It’s all informational here, as far as getting us up to speed,” said Denis Theriault, Ward 4 councilor-elect. “This isn’t some secret meeting. We’re just getting to know each other. I want to know what the others are thinking, and what their strengths are.”

Other councilors-elect agreed.

“You need some time to get to know each other, so we can learn to work together,” said Ward 2 Councilor-elect Nelson Peters.

Ward 7’s Robert Reed said he understood the meeting was scheduled to introduce the newly elected officials to department heads. That’s important, said Ward 5’s Tina Bailey.

“I know a few people in City Hall, but I don’t know everyone,” she said.

Ward 6 Councilor-elect Elizabeth Dube declined to comment. Mayor Gilbert, re-elected last month, said he didn’t know what was on Tuesday’s agenda.

“You know more than I do right now,” he said.

The city had reserved space at the Lucerne Inn outside Bangor in Dedham last month for a strategic planning session with new councilors and a professional moderator. They canceled that meeting, saying it looked wasteful of the city’s resources.