A tennis court resurfacing project has hit a snag in Palmerton Area School District.

Palmerton’s board unanimously turned down a request Monday night from the contractor, Bruce George Paving and Excavating Inc, for an additional $23,821.10 worth of acrylic resurfacer. That would be on top of the $174,668.36 project cost the district agreed to in June.

“Something went wrong with the pavement and it’s just sucking up sealant,” director Earl Paules said. “They want about 30 more barrels of sealant and that’s a cost we just can’t eat.”

The project called for milling of existing cracks at the courts and installation of a new wearing base. The district hoped the project would be done by mid-August.

“We feel the macadam is too coarse,” Facilities Director Joe Faenza said. “What we’re going to do is have core samples tested and that will tell us if the right amount of aggregate was used, if it compacted properly and if the right amount of sound was put in. It’ll give us a better idea of what’s going on there.”

Faenza said he’s hopeful the samples will come back by the end of the week.

Before Monday’s vote, Paules urged his fellow directors to vote against the payment for the extra acrylic resurfacer.

“Whether the sealant company blew their estimation or there is an issue with the pavement that is causing this, it’s not on the district,” he said.

One added payment Paules and the board did consent to Monday was $2,502.47 for additional Superpave wearing course tonnage for the courts.

“This was in the contract from the beginning for them to be able to use more than they expected to,” Paules said. “Some spots took a little more paving to get it level. This dollar amount is definitely doable for us unlike the other request.”

When the project is complete, the district will go from five courts to four to comply with Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association regulations that call for 12 feet between the fence and the first court, and 12 feet between each court.