CHARLESTOWN — The town’s Parks & Recreation Commission last night again took up the issue of raising fees for the promoters who host events at Ninigret Park, debating a question that has stymied them for some time: How exactly should they do it?

With Town Solicitor Robert Craven on hand to advise them when it was appropriate to go into closed session, and when not, commission members considered a number of ideas — from tacking a surcharge onto ticket prices to requiring promoters to pay a percentage of their gross revenue to the town.

Not all events will be treated the same way, commission members agreed. Special consideration will be given to the fact that the Charlestown Chamber of Commerce, which sponsors the Seafood Festival every year and is instrumental in bringing the Big Apple Circus to town, is a nonprofit organization, they said.

This summer, the three-day Seafood Festival grossed $285,673, but it had expenses of $206,958, making its net gain $78,714.61, according to commission chairman Dan Alves, who disclosed the Festival’s numbers with the permission of the Chamber.

“Isn’t it true that the Chamber needs that for their operation?” asked Town Administrator Edward Barrett.

Alves replied that that was, indeed, the case. Barrett said it was important for the town to take a partnership approach with the Chamber and not do anything that might hurt attendance at its events, a point on which commission members agreed.

Regarding for-profit enterprises, namely the Rhythm & Roots Festival and the Reggae Festival, commission members were still undecided about which approach to take — whether to impose a ticket surcharge, a fee based on percentage of gross revenue or simply raising the existing flat fee of $2,500 a day — when they went into executive session to discuss the matter further.

Asked which exception to the state’s Open Meeting law allowed the commission to go into closed session, Craven responded, “contract negotiations.”

Time is somewhat of the essence on this issue, commission members said, noting they want to get agreements with the promoters in place for next summer. After a previous proposal to charge promoters a percentage of revenue met with opposition from the public, as well as the promoters, the plan now is to tailor the fee charged to the particular event, taking into consideration a number of factors, among them attendance and ticket prices.

Sounding an optimistic note, Lisa A. DiBello, the town’s Director of Parks & Recreation, said she believes the commission is closer to finding a resolution to the fee issue, which has dogged it for months now, than members might realize. She said she has talked to the promoters and they are willing to pay a fair increase, more willing than they may have first appeared.

“I think you’re very close to an agreement,” DiBello said.

The Town Council must, ultimately, approve any fee change, a fact that was noted more than once during last night’s discussion.

In other business, the commission unanimously and enthusiastically endorsed the idea of building an addition to the playground at Ninigret Park for handicapped children. Money for the project has already been raised by a group led by Marilyn McCullough, the mother of a special needs child, Sarah, who passed away in 2003. Now all the playground needs is a home.

“I wanted to build a playground in her memory so that all children could play and have opportunities she didn’t have,” McCullough told the commission.

The Chariho Rotary Club has been helping McCullough find a suitable location for the playground. Jeff Duscha, the club’s president, said a few sites have been under consideration, including Ninigret, and it was time to find out if the town was interested in the project.