BLUE HILL – The selectmen agreed Friday to extend the use of the town hall by Blue Hill Memorial Hospital to allow it to expand a community fitness program.

The Get Strong-Get Healthy program uses the upstairs room for five classes a week, and plans to add two additional classes, according to Kim Horton, a registered nurse in charge of the hospital’s health education program.

Although there was some discussion about charges to the hospital for use of the hall, the selectmen agreed to continue the current profit-sharing arrangement with the hospital, in which the two entities split the after-expenses profit equally.

According to Horton, the program, which began in August, generated a total of $1,261 in profits during the first seven months. A projection of income for the rest of the year anticipates total profits of almost $6,000, she said.

“We estimate that there will be the potential of about $3,000 of income to the town,” she said.

Selectman John Bannister raised some questions about the arrangement, noting that, initially, the profit-sharing arrangement was to have been a temporary arrangement subject to review.

The town generally charges a flat fee for use of the town hall at a rate of $35 for a half-day, and Bannister pointed out that if the hospital had to build the space for the program, it would pay much more than the $35 fee.

Bannister also noted that the hospital’s initial request for additional time at the town hall did not specify how many hours it would need.

Horton stressed that the idea of the program was to build partnerships with the town and community members to create these types of programs to improve community health.

She noted that if the hospital had to cover the $35 fee, it could not afford to continue the program without increasing the modest fee it charges to participants.

The program operates in other towns, she said, and in some cases the town does not charge the hospital any fee for the use of town facilities.

No one was suggesting that the hospital pay the $35 fee, said Selectman Gordon Emerson. He said that the town covers the cost for a variety of activities without charging a fee, including the athletic field.

Emerson suggested the town continue the current arrangement with the added hours. That suggestion was approved unanimously.