A drive by older Mill Creek residents to get a senior center built got a financial boost from a developer who made a surprise announcement Tuesday night.

Dozens of local seniors attended Tuesday’s Mill Creek City Council meeting in a show of force organized to show city government that the need and desire for a senior center exists. But it was after most of the seniors vacated the council chambers that they got their first contribution for their effort.

The announcement by Martin Hudler of Lake Oswego, Ore., came during a presentation of a plaque to Evie Armstrong in memory of her late husband, Dr. Larry Schmidt. Hudler, owner and developer of the LA Fitness building in Town Center, donated money to the city for the plaque because he “believes in giving back to the community.”

He followed that up by saying that he had no idea that the desire of the senior community for a center was so strong, and he pledged that once a site is found, he would “cut a check” for $10,000 to help fund the center.

“(Community development director Bill Trimm) knows where to find me,” Hudler said. “If he calls tomorrow, I’ll write the check.”

Hudler’s announcement came after six speakers, including state Reps. John Lovick and Hans Dunshee, lobbied the City Council on behalf of local seniors.

Dunshee, D-Snohomish, said that state grants are possible to fund such a center, and that such grants can go to non-profit organizations such as the Greater Mill Creek Senior Program. Dunshee offered his help in applying for a grant.

Bill Durham, director of the senior program, urged the city to work with local seniors to find a senior site “in the city.”

But local resident Fred Fillbrook argued that the center could be outside the current city limits, on land the city co-owns with Snohomish County at Tambark Creek southeast of the city on 35th Avenue.

Regardless of location, Laura Reed of Mill Creek urged the city to “take a more active role in addressing the needs of this population.” Reed, who chairs the senior’s community development committee, said that the 2000 census showed that 15 percent of Mill Creek’s population was 65 or older, a figure she said will increase significantly in the next five years as the Baby Boom generation ages.

“If we do this the right way together, we will have something we will be proud of,” Reed said.

Bill McElroy of Bothell, meanwhile, said that membership in the Mill Creek senior program has tripled in the last five years. McElroy took a straw poll of seniors in the audience if they wanted a senior center, and those there unanimously said they did.

Mayor Donna Michelson told meeting attendees that city manager Steve Nolen is researching the topic of a senior center and will bring it back to the Council at a future date.

The Mill Creek senior program, an affiliate of the Northshore Senior Center in Bothell, currently operates out of space donated by the Washington State University extension office in McCollum Park just outside Mill Creek. Senior programs run through the office take place at various locations throughout the city.