HOLLYWOOD, Fla. — The Python 5000 is finally gone.
After years of sitting unused in a remote corner of a City of Hollywood Public Works facility, the nearly half million dollar pothole machine has been sold at public auction for $72,120.
Hollywood paid $458,180.44 for the machine in 2022.
The sale price represents about 15.7 percent of what the city originally paid. The difference between the purchase price and the sale price is $386,060.44.
According to the City of Hollywood, the machine was picked up July 28 and is headed to Canada.
The buyer is Accessories Machinery Limited, a private construction equipment supplier in Montreal, Quebec. The city identified Sylvain Mallette, the company’s bureau chief, as the purchaser.
Hollywood said the sale was conducted through Public Surplus. According to the city, the company already owned a Python and found Hollywood’s machine while searching the public auction site for another one.
The sale comes months after a Local 10 News investigation exposed the machine sitting unused at the city’s Public Works facility and raised questions about why the city had purchased the equipment, why it was taken out of service and what happened to efforts to recover the city’s money.
Hollywood’s Python 5000 was supposed to be a solution to one of the city’s most persistent problems.
Instead, it became an expensive piece of equipment that spent most of its short life sitting idle.
The City Commission approved the $458,180.44 purchase on Feb. 2, 2022.
At the time, city officials were enthusiastic about the machine. It was presented as an innovative way to repair potholes faster and with fewer employees.
Then Public Works Director Peter Bieniek told commissioners the machine could be operated by one person using a joystick. City officials said one operator could perform substantially more repair work than a conventional three person crew.
Mayor Josh Levy ended the discussion by saying, “Let’s order the Python 5000,” followed by applause.
Commissioner Caryl Shuham said, “This is exactly what our residents want, so I’m very excited about it.”
Commissioner Kevin Biederman said he was glad the city had found the funding for the purchase.
Hollywood took delivery of the Python in August 2022.
Four months later, in December 2022, the city took it out of service.
The city later told Local 10 that the machine repeatedly broke down and never performed as promised.
Officials also said the way the machine patched potholes did not work properly in Hollywood’s environment. According to the city, the repairs could leave a raised area in the roadway and correcting the problem required additional employees, undermining the efficiency the machine was supposed to provide.
The machine was eventually parked and remained unused for years.
Local 10 found it sitting in a remote area of the Public Works facility, where it remained until the city moved and cleaned it after Local 10 began asking questions about the equipment.
The problems with the machine also led to a legal response.
On Sept. 6, 2023, the Hollywood City Commission unanimously authorized the city attorney to pursue legal action against the manufacturer and seek damages related to what the city’s resolution described as the “defective and unusable” Python 5000.
The lawsuit was never filed.
Joann Hussey, Hollywood’s director of communications, marketing and economic development, told Local 10 that the city attorney’s office reviewed the facts, warranties, contract and terms and conditions and ultimately decided not to pursue the case.
The city attorney involved in that decision later left the city.
The decision not to file the lawsuit was not brought back to the City Commission for a public update.
Mayor Levy later told Local 10 that commissioners should have received more regular updates after directing staff to take action on an issue such as this.
Levy also acknowledged that, in hindsight, more due diligence should have been done before the machine was purchased.
The manufacturer, SuperiorRoads Solutions of Canada, has disputed the city’s account.
Daniel Yun, writing on behalf of SuperiorRoads, told Local 10 that the company spent approximately $30,000 of its own money supporting Hollywood after the machine was delivered. He said the company provided deployment assistance, operator training and maintenance training.
Yun also said the company’s records did not show formal service requests from Hollywood through its service system following delivery and training.
SuperiorRoads said it believed it delivered a quality product and remained willing to work with the city to determine whether the machine could be returned to service.
Hollywood ultimately chose a different path.
The city spent years trying to sell the Python.
After Local 10’s original investigation aired on March 5, the city told Local 10 that staff had contacted the manufacturer using information provided by the station and that efforts to sell the machine were continuing.
The city later confirmed the Python had been sold.
The final price was $72,120.
The machine is now gone from Hollywood.
But the numbers remain.
The city paid $458,180.44 for the Python 5000.
It recovered $72,120 from the sale.
The machine that was supposed to smooth out Hollywood’s potholes ended up sitting unused for years before being sold for a fraction of its original price.
The Python 5000 has now left Hollywood.
The financial pothole it left behind is $386,060.44 between what the city paid and what it recovered from the sale.
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