Historic Preservation Commission chairman George Bowden spoke about the new Washington Street historic district.

Elected officials approved Red Bank’s first residential historic district Tuesday night at a fast-paced session.

With Council President Art Murphy sitting in for an absent Mayor Pasquale Menna, the borough council also heard a glowing review of the government’s financial systems and cleared the way for a September event at Riverside Gardens Park that had raised concerns. The regular bimonthly meeting had been postponed from Monday over concerns that the a quorom would not be present.

Here’s the rundown of council actions:

• Heard independent auditor David Kaplan’s annual assessment of bookkeeping and other financial controls in the local government. Kaplan said his assessment for 2008 was unqualified, meaning a clean opinion.

“Policies don’t work unless the tone at the top is right,” he said. “I’m very happy to report that the tone at the top here in Red Bank is awesome.”

• Gave final approval to the creation of the Washington Street Historic District. Historic Preservation Commission George Bowden praised the passage of the measure, which he said was the result of nearly three years work that included a detailed inventory of 106 properties in the East Side neighborhood, the borough’s oldest.

Here’s the ordinance, with a list of homes included in the district: 2009-19

• Adopted, without discussion, a flood hazard prevention ordinance, as required by the state. Here’s the document: 2009-22

•  Authorized an event to be held by the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society on September 26. The event, a fundraising walk, is to begin and end at Riverside Gardens Park on West Front Street.

The council recently raised concerns about apparent plans to erect a tent and hand out balloons, both of which are prohibited in the park. But the council OK’d the event after organizers persuaded the special events committee that the tent would be used to cover registration tables and that the balloons would be weighted and not released into the air.

• Approved the following resolutions:

09-156 A Resolution Authorizing Approval of Sidewalk Café for Carlos O’Connor.

09-157 A Resolution Authorizing Approval of Sidewalk Café for Muscle Maker Grill.

09-159 A Resolution Authorizing Renewal of Plenary Retail Consumption Licenses 2009-2010.

09-160 A Resolution Authorizing Renewal of Plenary Retail Distribution Licenses 2009-2010.

09-161 A Resolution Accepting Bid from Karson Food Service, Inc. for Summer Food Service Lunch Program.

09-162 A Resolution Authorizing Change Order No. 3 Related to the Contract with A. Montone Construction for the 2007/2008 Road Program – Spring Street, Phase II.

09-163 A Resolution Urging Child Swimming Safety.

09-164 A Resolution Commending Albert Daniels on Achieving the Highest Award of Elkdom.

09-165 A Resolution Authorizing Waiver of the Time Limits for Construction Work Under Section 3-9.12 of the Revised General Ordinances of the Borough of Red Bank with Respect to the Construction of Marine Park Bulkhead Repairs and Park Upgrades Along the Navesink River.