OPINION: Water for drunks

We call upon the wisdom of Rodney King: "Can't we all just get along?"

Sheriff Terry Maketa emerged heroically to solve the regional dilemma of no drunk tank.

Using money from the county's contract to hold immigration detainees, he agreed to build a detox center at the jail. Though Maketa is a county official, the drunk tank will mostly help the city's Memorial Hospital, which ends up with destitute drunks.

All looked good until Maketa learned that city-owned Colorado Springs Utilities wants $233,000 to hook the detox center to existing water and sewer lines. Utilities officials refuse to waive the fee, saying they can't unless City Council changes the law.

Meanwhile, in what's supposed to be an unrelated matter, Colorado Springs Utilities wants county commissioners to allow a sewer line easement through Bear Creek Regional Park. Tuesday, after learning that city officials want $233,000, county commissioners voted to reconsider their previous easement approval.

There can only be two solutions to this:

Option A: City officials lower their price for a detox hookup to $1, in exchange for the easement they need from the county.

Option B: County officials raise the price of the easement to $233,000. The city somehow pays it in cash, or it pays with the water and sewer hookup Maketa needs.

Local officials must choose A or B. Either will work. Do it for the drunks.