NEW ORLEANS - The city of New Orleans has cancelled the start of the monument relocation bid process that was scheduled Monday as the matter continues to be stayed by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

WWL-TV reports the decision to remove four monuments that celebrate Confederate era figures or events and the bid process to have them removed has been marked by controversy and court hearings.

The city council voted late last year to have the Robert E. Lee statue at Lee Circle, The P.G.T. Beauregard statue near City Park, the Jefferson Davis Memorial on Jefferson Davis Parkway and the monument to the Battle of Liberty Place tucked away off of Canal Street, declared nuisances.

The process to have them physically removed has been marred with some potential contractors dropping out and some claiming attempts to intimidate them.

“Throughout this process, the safety of potential bidders has been paramount,” said Hayne Rainey, a press secretary for Mayor Mitch Landrieu. “Due to the previous violence and threats during the bid process, we will wait to re-advertise the project until we feel confident a resolution in the Court is near and a contractor may be publicly procured so that monuments may be relocated without further delay.”