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County officials have postponed a meeting with city officials to discuss the possible preservation of Bradley Cove.

“The county decided they needed to cancel it,” said Acting City Manager Anthony Nuccio. At this point, Nuccio is “not comfortable” discussing why the meeting was cancelled, he said.

It is the third time the county  has agreed on a date and rescheduled with the city, according to Councilwoman Amy Quinn.

The Bradley Cove area is located at the North End Beach of Asbury Park and is currently earmarked for development. All five members of the City Council voted in late November to resume discussions with the Monmouth County Board of Recreation Commissioners to explore preservation options for the area.

Sources tell the Sun that county officials want a representative from waterfront redeveloper iStar Financial at the meeting. The request came from the county counsel’s office, the sources say. IStar had not been asked to attend the previous meetings.

County counsel Andrea Bazer did not return a message asking for comment.

IStar — the majority owner of Asbury Partners — owns the deveopment rights to build 15 townhomes and a mid-rise residential tower on two adjacent  parcels of land at Bradley Cove totaling 1.2 acres. One parcel — a triangular fenced-in parking lot next to Ocean Avenue — is owned outright by Asbury Partners. The second parcel, consisting of the right of way of Ocean Avenue from the sewerage treatment plant to near the Loch Arbour border, is owned by the city, but Asbury Partners owns the development rights and has the right to take ownership.

“This is just conversation, not negotiation,” said Councilwoman Amy Quinn. “It is the county and the city coming together to talk about preserving Bradley Cove — which a majority of the council wants to do. I don’t know why the county has asked to reschedule this meeting three times.”

Quinn and Mayor Myra Campbell will represent the city at the meeting.

James J. Truncer, director of the county Board of Recreation Commissioners, is expected to attend the meeting along with other recreation commissioners. At least one Monmouth County Freeholder, Lillian Burry, has expressed interest in attending the meeting, according to Quinn.

The county has had the land appraised, but the appraisal “was not complete in detail and only provided basic information in regard to the property which we have not released to the public,” Truncer told the Sun earlier this month.

IStar is willing to consider selling its interests to preserve Bradley Cove “provided that it receives fair treatment and just compensation, the same as Asbury Partners is required to provide to other property owners when Asbury Partners must acquire property in the waterfront redevelopment areas,” according to a statement issued in February 2012.

Brian Cheripka, iStar’s vice president for land, did not return the Sun’s request for comment for this story regarding iStar’s participation in the discussions between the city and the county.

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