AUBURN – Councilors blasted their cross-river colleagues Monday night for scheduling a discussion about solid waste without consulting them.

Referring to a document given to him by a member of Auburn’s Solid Waste Committee that outlined an apparent agreement between the city of Lewiston and Casella Waste System, Mayor John Jenkins urged Auburn councilors and residents to attend Lewiston’s meeting Tuesday.

“I haven’t been told anything about this meeting until now, but I think it’s of vital importance to Auburn,” Jenkins said.

Lewiston’s workshop meeting is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. in Lewiston City Hall.

The document is a nonbinding term sheet between the city of Lewiston and Casella Waste System concerning the KTI Biofuels Facility on Plourde Parkway. The document has the word “Confidential” written at the top and the bottom, and says it is “For Discussion Purposes Only.”

According to the term sheet, the Casella would move the Pine Tree Waste collection operation out of Mechanic Falls to the KTI site, bringing 51 loaded trucks to the site per day.

The facility would be used to handle construction and debris waste, according to the sheet. Lewiston, which owns the land where the KTI facility is located, would agree to extend the lease by 10 years and support Casella in the new project.

Lewiston City Administrator Jim Bennett said the document is part of a presentation Casella made to the city earlier this month. He included the information in the City Council’s packet, but they had not had the opportunity to discuss it.

“The question was, ‘What do you want to do with this?'” Bennett said. “We’re not trying to do something hidden. This is a proposal Casella made to the city and we need to discuss it. That’s why we’re having a workshop.”

Jenkins said the matter should have been presented to Auburn, since the cities border each other and have a solid waste “ash for trash” agreement. Lewiston takes its trash to Auburn’s incinerator. Auburn sends the incinerator ash to Lewiston’s landfill.

“We have no idea what this agreement would mean for our incinerator,” Jenkins said.

City Councilor Bob Mennealy took it a step farther.

“If this is the kind of thing Lewiston is contemplating, I’m glad we’re not cooperating with them,” Mennealy said.

But Lewiston Councilor Denis Theriault said the matter was not hidden from the public or from Auburn officials.

“It’s listed right there on our agenda,” Theriault said. “There is nothing hidden, nothing secretive going on here. But the thing that gets me is, what started this whole firestorm, is this is just a workshop people. We’re discussing something, not voting.”