At the Nov. 24 public-comment portion of the El Paso County Commissioners Court, residents and advocates raised a dispute over a road-closure fee charged this year for a 26-year volunteer Thanksgiving turkey giveaway in Montana Vista.

Volunteer organizer Tina Silva said she has run the program for decades and that this year she was unexpectedly charged a fee for a special-event road closure; she asked the court to ‘‘fix it’’ so neighborhood seniors could receive food. Jaime Abeyta and other speakers characterized the fee as political retaliation tied to criticism of competing elected officials and said charging the volunteer posed a hardship for a program that had always been free to operate.

Betsy Keller, the county official who handles special-event permits, told the court the special-event/road-closure policy was adopted in 2016 and that her office received the permit request and a waiver application. Keller said her office denied the waiver because the policy does not grant her authority to waive fees in that context; she said the applicant was informed and that, because the event was imminent, Constable Javier Garcia paid the fee so the permit could be executed. Keller said the fee amount was higher because it was submitted less than 30 days in advance.

Assistant County Attorney Eric Rosales advised that the Open Meetings Act limits the court’s ability to deliberate on the matter without public notice and that the appropriate path was to place the policy or a waiver request on a future agenda. Several commissioners acknowledged the complaint and asked county attorney staff to review the policy and, if appropriate, bring amendments to the court for consideration.

Speakers said they will submit documents and receipts to seek formal review. Commissioners suggested the County Administration and County Attorney examine the policy and return with recommended changes.