Chasm Between Avon And Restaurant Still Wide

Avon Borough officials and the owner of the Avon Pavilion are at least one step closer an agreement after the two had an hourlong sit down on Thursday to discuss the controversy surrounding the longtime boardwalk restaurant.

Rob Fishman, pavilion owner, and Avon Borough Administrator Tim Gallagher spent about an hour on Thursday talking about the gulf that separates Fishman and the majority of the elected officials in town regarding the rebuilding of the Avon Pavilion. But the two sides came to no concrete agreement, said Dennis A. Collins, Wall Township-based attorney for Fishman.

The Avon Board of Commissioners, the borough’s governing body, on Jan. 28 abruptly voted to void Fishman’s lease on the restaurant, at first saying that a state law precluded the borough from maintaining it since the building was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy.

But Monday at a heavily attended afternoon workshop meeting, Mayor Robert Mahon gave a different reason for terminating the lease. . Fishman had three years left on the first option when it was canceled by the borough.

“Nothing has happened other than a positive discussion between my client and Mr. Gallagher,’’ Collins said. “There’s still a long way to go.’’

A New York television news station on Thursday erroneously implied that the borough and Fishman were near a settlement.

Collins on Friday said he would be working on the issue over the weekend and was hopeful that everything could be worked out before Monday’s public meeting of the Board of Commissioners.

But if it does not, Collins said he planned to bring a lawsuit against the borough.