LEWISTON — If city  councilors insist on negotiating a deal for a River Road recycling facility with Casella Solid Waste, residents Tuesday night urged them to act slowly.

“Please, be very careful,” Robert Soucy of 373 Pinewood Road said. “Remember one thing: They want this. Make them pay the price.”

The company has proposed building a $4 million facility at the Lewiston landfill on River Road to sort recyclable materials. It would take unsorted recyclables from around Maine and mechanically sort them for sale on the commodities market.

But residents still have some underlying suspicions about Casella and its track record in Maine, they told councilors Tuesday night. That includes a controversial 2006 deal that would have given Casella management over the city’s landfill. Fearing the landfill would become a magnet for out-of-state trash collections, councilors killed the deal in 2007.

“Why would the City Council even consider this, given Casella’s track record in Maine and around New England?” asked Celeste Delcourt of 98 Hogan Road.

Councilors directed City Administrator Ed Barrett to begin talks with the company anyway, saying they had faith in Barrett and his staff to put together a deal that protects the community.

“Keep in mind, we are not voting on a contract right now. We are voting on negotiating a contract,” Councilor Donald D’Auteuil said. “I understand the passion that you all have, but I am quite open-minded to see what this can mean for our city.”

Councilors voted 5-1 to open negotiations, with Craig Saddlemire voting against them. Councilor John Butler was absent from Tuesday’s meeting.

Casella first presented its plan to councilors last week. The company would sign a 30-year lease with the city, taking over the current recycling transfer station and constructing a 15,000-square-foot, automated sorting facility. The company would pay the city to lease the land as well as property taxes and would employ 25 people upon opening.

Currently, Lewiston’s recyclables are collected curbside by Almighty Waste of Auburn and taken to the city recycling transfer station at the Lewiston landfill, where they are loaded in 100-ton bins. Casella ships those bins to its Charleston, Mass., plant for processing. Lewiston and Casella split the proceeds of the sale.

The Lewiston facility would be similar to the one in Charleston, but smaller.

The facility would process 20,000 to 25,000 tons of recyclables per year, brought in by 10 trucks per day from around the state. Another five trucks daily would deliver the sorted recyclables to buyers.

Barrett said the recycling center would not affect operations at the city’s landfill and should have little impact on Mid-Maine Waste Action Corporation’s trash incinerator in Auburn. He said the city would be in a good position to control what happens at the recycling facility since it would still own the land.

The city’s recycling yard is open to the public and that would not change either, Barrett said.

But Barrett said he does intend to keep his eyes open.

“One of the things I am in the process of doing is to talk to people in Hampden, Old Town, Biddeford and other places to talk about some of the controversies in the state involving Casella,” Barrett said.

City Councilor Mark Cayer urged residents to keep an open mind.

“I think we need to recognize this is not the same as it was a few years ago,” Cayer said. “This is different, as we do have a staff we can trust to negotiate. I’m not saying I think it will be a good deal because I just don’t know. What I am going to do is ask people to remain open-minded until we know more.”

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