It was embarrassing when water taken in a mid-August sample from St. John the Baptist Parish Water District 1 tested positive for Naegleria fowleri ameba.

Things got worse in October when two parish employees were indicted for their role, according to the Louisiana Attorney General’s office, in failing to properly collect and record water samples from the sites that tested positive for the potentially deadly ameba.

But frankly, that was small potatoes compared to the humiliating chain of events that have taken place between St. John Parish Council members and the St. John Parish administration.

How else can residents and supporters of this parish feel?

Parish Council members voted unanimously in October to request Parish President Natalie Robottom seek the resignation of Director of Utilities Virgil Rayneri.

Robottom, citing a need for leadership continuity and the benefit of Rayneri’s unique understanding of the department, resisted the resignation plea before ultimately spearheading a plan that would have Rayneri retire at the end of February.

Robottom placed Blake Fogleman’s name on the Jan. 13 Parish Council meeting agenda, with the idea Council members would approve his hiring as utilities director, allowing time for a transition period that overlapped the service of Rayneri and Fogleman.

Parish Council members balked at the approval, saying more time was needed to vet Fogleman’s qualifications.

Two weeks and some change later wasn’t enough time as Council members chose not to address Fogleman’s standing at their Jan. 27 meeting.

Robottom responded by naming Fogleman a special assistant on the morning of Jan. 28, to which Parish Council members responded by calling for an impromptu meeting Friday. At that meeting, an opinion was read from the St. John District Attorney’s Office indicating Robottom was overstepping her bounds by naming special assistants to serve director roles.

So instead of meeting together in the spirit of cooperation and solution, the elected leadership between the Council and parish president’s chair are engaged in a near constant game of one-upsmanship.

“You won’t approve my hire, I’ll name him a special assistant.”

“Oh yeah, I’ll call you on that, special assistants can’t handle director responsibilities.”

Give us a break. The people of St. John Parish are beyond embarrassed. Humiliating seems to be the best way to describe these actions.

If Council members and the parish president would spend the time working together that they are spending tearing each other apart, St. John’s residents might just have leadership in place for its utilities department.