A lawsuit authorized by Lehighton Area School District last week is on hold.

The controversy centered on propane tanks at East Penn, Franklin and Mahoning elementary schools.AmeriGas was supposed to remove the tanks after its bid to be Lehighton's propane supplier for 2015 was unsuccessful in September.Since the board meeting on April 27, AmeriGas removed the tank at Franklin."We expect them to do the same at Mahoning and East Penn soon," said Joe Hauser, Lehighton building and grounds supervisor.Before the unanimous vote to file a lawsuit, resident David Bradley questioned whether the district had made a sufficient attempt to get AmeriGas to remove the tanks rather than spend money on litigation."We've made repeated demands," district solicitor William Schwab said. "On several occasions they have promised us they would remove the tanks. It's been an ongoing issue."There is propane in the tanks, Schwab said, and that creates a safety issue.While the tanks are in a secured, fenced-in area, AmeriGas is not servicing the valves."That could also lead to some insurance issues for the district if we don't get this resolved," Schwab said. "I don't know how else to get their attention."On Wednesday, Schwab said things are on hold from a legal perspective. "It's too premature to say whether we will go forward or not."The propane contract is bid by Lehighton every year, and while AmeriGas is the perennial supplier, its bid was not accepted for 2015 because it didn't follow the bid criteria, Hauser said.Instead, Superior Plus Energy Services was awarded the bid at $0.65 per gallon fixed cost, plus a fluctuating cost based on the Mont Belvieu posting for propane."It's not a very wide market for suppliers," Hauser said. "We're in a unique situation in that the district doesn't own the tanks. They are owned by the supplier who receives the bid."In the past, Hauser said, there was a private agreement between different companies that received the bid to use the same tanks."They would do a tank exchange on paper," Hauser said. "This is the first time that the supplier who lost the bid came in and pulled out their tank."