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Beginning Fridays in June, visitors to Asbury Park will once again be able to end their day relaxing on the beach next to a bright bonfire.

The Asbury Park City Council gave the OK for boardwalk redeveloper Madison Marquette to host the weekly events at their Wednesday meeting.

Bonfires will be held Wednesday nights at the height of the season, in July and August, and Friday nights in the shoulder season, through September and October, weather permitting.

While the fires will be held at various locations on the beachfront from 7 to 11 p.m., they will mostly happen at the Fifth Avenue beach adjacent to the south side of Convention Hall.

The position of the bonfires depends upon several things, including wind and approval from the fire marshall, according to the special event application.

The June start date has not yet been announced.

“We are finalizing agreements [with event contractors] and are excited to be bringing them back to the beachfront,” said Carrie Turner, Madison Marquette’s director of retail.

Master boardwalk redeveloper Madison Marquette hosted weekly bonfires and fireworks displays in the summer of 2012, but scaled back their investment in the city last year after losing control of 600 parking spaces along the Asbury Park waterfront. Installation of a state-mandated sprinkler system throughout the entire Convention Hall structure was also linked to the factors that caused Madison to take a step back.

City officials are “very close” to inking an agreement with waterfront redeveloper iStar Financial and Madison Marquette — the majority and minority owners of Asbury Partners — that outlines in detail the control and operation of the spaces, according to city Manager John “Jack” Kelly.

Kelly received a final version of the agreement from the developers on Monday and expects the city council to vote on it at their the June 4 meeting, he said.

While the language of the agreement was being worked out, Madison Marquette began installation of the state-mandated sprinkler system in the Paramount and Grand Arcade portions of the Convention Hall building.

Owners of the Mogo, the Korean taco pop-up shop located on the boardwalk, attempted to partner with the city to host bonfires last year, but the logistics and costs included proved too difficult to overcome.

[Photo at top: People gather on the beach at a previous year’s bonfire. Photo by Caroline Novack.]

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