Pennsburg Council rejected a proposal to allow women to utilize a Code Blue shelter in the borough. On Tuesday, the members voted unanimously to reject a request by Marianne Lynch, executive director of the Open Link, to amend its application.

            Council issued its ruling, in response to a conditional use hearing held last month, following an executive session. Three members verbalized their concerns related to allowing women to stay at the shelter, located at a former parsonage at the intersection of Eighth and Main streets, with men.

            President Patrick Sutter, Diane Stevens and Keith DeAngelis said the situation could create security issues. Stevens and DeAngelis also cited potentially slow state police response times. DeAngelis expressed concerns that some women impacted by domestic violence would not want to be housed with men.

            "I'm also concerned about borough liability," Stevens said.

            Speaking after the vote, a member of the Upper Perk Homeless Coalition's leadership team and a borough resident, told council the applicant could safely house men and women on the coldest nights of the year. According to Michele Hohlfeld, the community has an ethical obligation to do so.

            In October, Lynch asked the members to consider amending the original conditional use application during a hearing. She proposed to house men and women on separate floors. Last winter, only men were allowed to stay at the shelter.

            "We can't, in good conscience, leave women out in the cold," Lynch said on Oct. 15. She told council that she has observed more homeless people in the Upper Perkiomen Valley than last year.

            Last year, when the Open Link opened the shelter, they observed that the ratio of homeless people in the region was eight men to one or two women, according to Lynch. She told council that the figure has since shifted to an equal number of unhoused people, citing the continual increase in the cost of housing.

            "The candidates for unhoused people have changed," Lynch said inside the meeting room at the municipal building with few empty seats. She claimed last season's volunteers filled the room.

            According to the executive director, the shelter would continue to allow 10 people to stay overnight during the coldest nights of the year. Lynch expressed confidence that the facility could safely house men and women on separate floors.

            Last month, the executive director said she suspects that most of this year's clients could be women. According to Lynch, the shelter's two regular attendees from last winter currently have stable housing.

            Women with children would not be allowed to stay at the shelter, according to Lynch. She said they would be transferred to a hotel in Quakertown.

            Council Vice President Keith Goodwin did not attend the meeting.

            The members met in executive session after the public portion to consider a personnel issue, according to Solicitor Mark Hosterman.