The Power of One
A Conversation with Ron Cockriel
Ron Cockriel, his brother Robert Cockriel,
and fellow Sierra Club volunteer Jean White
lead bicyclists by the Maplewood Marsh on the
Ninth Annual Tour de Sprawl in 2004.
Photo by Trevor Russell.
Ron Cockriel read an article in a suburban newspaper about a plan to transform a vacant 33-acre parcel full of oak trees and wetlands in Maplewood into a bus garage for the local school district. An active bicyclist and environmentalist, the long-time Maplewood resident knew the area in question and wondered for years if the land could be cleaned up and turned into a park. Ron was also aware of the land's history. The parcel's owner, the Minnesota Department of Transportation, had once slated it for a freeway interchange for a planned roadway connecting downtown St. Paul with Century Avenue. When that plan failed to materialize, part of the land became a dumping ground for road kill, crushed pavement, and other highway detritus for more than two decades.
Cockriel went to work on a plan to create a new city park on the site and move the bus site to another location: a Superfund site owned by 3M. The vision is not yet a reality, but Cockriel believes the elements will fall into place within a few years. He achieved all of this by employing an unconventional, but effective, approach to the issue.
What attracted you to the site?
I thought it was a beautiful parcel of wetland that, with some
environmental remediation, could become an environmental-educational
park and open year-round to the public. Today it's a vacant lot that
is being used as a make-shift dump site without public access. I
hope to change that.
How did you begin to make an impact?
I first realized that the effort needed a voice, so I began by
creating a website (www.maplewoodmatters.com) to create awareness
and provide a sense of legitimacy. I could point potential allies
like public officials and residents to the site. I also started
going to nearly every scheduled council meeting and school board
meeting and using the open forum part of those meetings to bring up
the issue of the bus garage and to suggest a different plan. I began
to see who was making decisions and which individuals were driving
decisions in Maplewood and North St. Paul and at the school board. I
saw how North St. Paul wanted the bus garage out of the community,
but I would ask, "How can we come up with a better plan?"
“Some people watch reality TV;
some people sit on a dock and fish.
I do this. I want to save this land
for future generations.”
The Pioneer Press published an article on the site and offered
three scenarios, one offered by Ron Cockriel. It made you look like
a one-man band. Are you?
Yes and no. A good idea is not easily defeated when shared by many. I
found that by simply picking up the phone and talking to people
in the various government agencies I could begin to create a group
of allies that would the see a bus garage on that site is not the
highest and best use of that land. I spoke to the
water and soil department of Ramsey County,
the local watershed district,
Ramsey County's Division of Parks and Recreation,
and Maplewood's Parks and Recreation Department.
I found allies in every department — government
officials who saw the site's potential as more than a bus garage.
So members of the so-called bureaucracy helped?
The beautiful thing about this project is that, with so many
people and agencies involved — from Maplewood, the state,
and other local levels of government — the progress toward a
bus garage was slowed. The bus garage proponents couldn't override
the bureaucracy quickly and that gave me time to offer a better
alternative.
What's the key to speaking to government officials?
I was always respectful and made it very clear to them what
information I needed. But, I was not shy about urging them to do
the right thing for the land.
Frank Pafko talks with neighbors about land use
in the MnDOT-owned section of the marsh.
Photo by David Wood.
Was there a breakthrough moment?
With the help of the Sierra Club, I brought together a group
of stakeholders for a Saturday morning meeting in 2005. We had
government representatives, some representatives from Hill-Murray High School (which was planning an expansion south of the DOT
site), Catholic sisters from St. Paul's Monastery, and neighbors
of the property. The high school and the monastery liked my plan,
and I think having the many years of environmental stewardship
represented by the Benedictine sisters on my side was a great help.
So you found allies in the end?
I did, but I never formally created an organization. I felt I would
have better control over the process by using government allies,
the neighbors, the high school representatives, and the sisters
from the monastery to help make my case. When I called on them to
help me out, they always did.
Have you been involved in other similar efforts?
I am involved in trying to stop Maplewood from developing a wetland
and wooded area in the Gladstone neighborhood where the city wants
to build a new high-density development. I'm not opposed to the
redevelopment concept, which works well on the north side of Frost
Avenue. I am opposed to the city taking out wetlands and open space
that the citizens asked the city to protect in a referendum vote
a decade ago. We'll see what happens.
Why do it?
I sold my insurance business a few years ago and I have three grown
sons. Some people watch reality TV; some people sit on a dock and
fish. I do this. I want to save this land for future generations
and have my work serve as an example to my own sons and to others
that people working together in a community can make a difference.