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Reuben Borg’s thriving fencing business changed dramatically Aug. 17 when a fire destroyed the warehouse he was leasing near the Pleasanton transfer station.
Firefighters controlled the blaze, but it destroyed equipment, trucks, the office and building materials that were stored there. Reuben Borg Fence has been located there since 2012 when he leased land and two buildings from the Peter Kiewit and Sons company.
After a follow-up visit from Pleasanton city building inspector, the local property manager for Kiewit and firefighters, the second building onsite (both were built decades ago) was yellow-tagged, meaning he could only enter it when accompanied by the owner’s representative. Kiewit reps have since boarded up other entrances and installed security cameras.
Meanwhile, the city’s Planning Division has determined that the way Borg was using the buildings and land exceeded his conditional use permit.
What’s remarkable is how one piece of the business — building fences — is continuing despite severe challenges.
The fire burned on a Friday morning and Borg’s crews were back in action the following Tuesday, missing just one business day. He leased five trucks, arranged for delivery of the wood and had his crews working. He’s kept everyone on the payroll, although in different roles because he cannot access one building where guys used to work cutting redwood.
It contains computer-controlled machines to cut the redwood, a key part of his business, that he cannot use because of the yellow-tag. By cutting his own redwood, he was able to obtain a higher quality wood than what is available in the warehouse stores and built a reputation for quality fencing.
Dennis Corbett, who signed the yellow-tag letter to Kiewit, wrote me in an email, “There were multiple violations of Section 3.02 of the Pleasanton Dangerous Buildings Code, PMS Chapter 20.32, visible at that time. Large pieces of equipment were installed without building permits or inspections. The entire building was being powered off a generator, large quantities of diesel fuel were being stored and dispensed in a dangerous manner, and many, significant electrical and combustible material ventilation hazards were observed.”
Reuben has been in business in Pleasanton since 1999, first operating “Borg Fence” with his wife until they divorced and he gave her that business name as well as the building they owned on Boulder Court. He has a record of supporting the community, including a couple of years ago when he dropped his schedule to do emergency repairs on collapsing soundwalls near Harvest Park Middle School. His schedule was filled for 2-1/2 months, but he put it on hold to help.
Now, he is struggling with the financial loss (more than $2 million in the fire) and the ongoing costs of renting trucks ($20,000/month), plus payments on his expensive cutting equipment.
And, on top of that, there’s uncertainty.
As the lessee, he has no control over the required improvements to the old building. That’s up to Kiewit, and it’s an open question of whether the Omaha-based company will want to make substantial improvements when the land is key for development if Pleasanton restarts the planning process for the east side. That was suspended during the drought.
The Kiewit parcel is the gateway to the city off Stanley Boulevard and, other than Borg’s operation, is leased for storage. It’s a prime site for potential development, and one local home-builder already moved dirt onto the parcel.
What’s sad about the current situation is that Borg had a very sweet business going that he pointed out had almost zero carbon footprint. When his crews replaced a fence, they would bring the old boards back to the shop, so they could be recycled into interior tongue-and-groove redwood boards that are sold at warehouse stores and other lumber outlets. The remaining redwood was then ground into a high-quality mulch.
Two legs of that business are halted with no clear path to get them opened and running again. The precision-cutting equipment cannot be relocated outside because of dust would harm the computer systems.
When Borg and I visited over a lunch hour, we sat in two old chairs outside the sheet-metal yellow-tagged building — in his office (he’s working out of his home). The city wants the temporary office trailer he installed removed so he can apply for a permit to locate it on site.
He’s determined to push through the challenges and offered one key takeaway when it comes to fire insurance: Ask any question you can think of, and then more, to ensure the coverage of what you think it is.
For instance, does fire insurance on a truck cover it when it’s in a building that burns down?
Editor’s note: Journalist Tim Hunt has written columns on the Tri-Valley community for more than 40 years. He grew up in the valley and lives in Pleasanton. His “Tim Talk” blog appears twice a week at PleasantonWeekly.com.
Editor’s note: Journalist Tim Hunt has written columns on the Tri-Valley community for more than 40 years. He grew up in the valley and lives in Pleasanton. His “Tim Talk” blog appears twice a week at PleasantonWeekly.com.
Tim Hunt, I have enjoyed reading your column for many years, but today I am extremely disappointed. You have talked to one person and reported what he said without doing any fact checking. I was involved in the transaction of the dissolution of the marriage, business and finances and know for a fact that Mr. Borg did NOT “give her” the business name and the building. Ms. Borg bought him out of the business and building in a more than fair, equitable business transaction that was agreed upon by both parties. It is inappropriate to state facts when you have not checked them to see if they are true. That is irresponsible journalism.
It is a shame he has to go through all of this. I have used his company many times and they have always done great work. Hope all goes well with the company. Thanks Tim for the great artical
I would also like to say that I am very sorry for Mr. Borg’s loss in the fire.
Extremely poorly written article. Reuben Borg fence is one of the most dangerous poorly run companies the Bay Area. The building that you speak of with the high-tech wood cutting equipment he actually broke into and was not paying any money on the lease until Kiewit Pacific found out about it and started charging him. He actually was renting it out to other people when it wasn’t even his name. There’s so much spilled diesel fuel in the dirt I can’t believe they’re even going to put housing in it! His trucks drive around in unsafe conditions with no registration. He has trailers that have never been registered and he just puts fake plates on them. It’s better if this business was closed. The reason Insurance didn’t cover anything it was due to gross negligence on his part.
@Susan, I have said repeatedly that Tim has written a number of stinkers.
That being said, you’re wrong in your interpretation of what he said about a very unimportant statement in his article. He says Borg gave the business to his ex-wife. You say Borg gave the business to his ex-wife for cash.
That’s a distinction with very little difference. I didn’t read the article as patting this guy on the back. I read it as he gave up the business in a divorce. In California, that only happens for fair compensation in all but the most unusual circumstances, and Tim wasn’t even trying to draw attention to this.
Given the other comments, which are about the fire and the business and are on point, why are you so sensitive to this? It’s pretty irrelevant.
Grumpy – I can’t speak for Susan, but having been through a divorce recently, I will say that I also took objection to the phrasing in the article. I was not “given” anything in our divorce – I had to PAY my ex-wife for the building we owned in which I operate a business – she did not GIVE it to me. The article makes it sound like he was being generous & gave his ex-wife the building and business name.
Well, Divorcee, I think you’re being overly sensitive. The word “give” is a completely appropriate way of saying that you no longer have something, even if you got equal value for it. That’s why we have the verb “gift”. I give the IRS a check. I don’t mistake that for a gift. I give the doctor a blood sample. I neither mistake that for a gift.
And, since you raise the point, giving someone something in a divorce can be a gift, not of the thing itself but of the legal expenses of hiring a forensic accountant, producing a fair market valuation, or even simply asserting that it is a close corporation and that the spouse is not entitled to run it even if they are entitled to half its value. (Corporate ownership can be held in trust.)
I don’t know the particular situation here and don’t care to know it. It wasn’t germaine to Tim’s point and I appreciate the economy of words he used to mention that the subject no longer has an old business and started afresh. If you’re able to take offense at the word “give” then it may not even be possible to “give up” this issue and move on, since you’ll be locked forever in the trap of not allowing anyone to stop “giving” a damn.
Words have meanings. Just because “give” can mean “gift” doesn’t mean it does in every use, nor that anyone else would confuse the two uses in this case.
So, apparently research is outdated in journalism these days, how can you publish an article with confidence and not bother to fo any fact checking? His contractors license was reissued in 2012, so how is that being in business since 1999? Also, he “gave” the business name to his ex wife as you so inaccurately reported, what type of person re opens a business years later with and uses the same name he “gave” away? Classy right? And to boot, as you try to shead sympathy on his losses in half your poorly written article, losses that are great and I would not wish those on anyone, the other half is explaining all the violations committed by him. Awful article, would have been better as a face book post than ligimite reporting.
Typical of this author, poorly-researched story with a great deal of opinion and lacking in facts. Not sure why the PW continues to provide him a forum.
how to you make “a Higher quality redwood” with a saw??? Mine is from home depot…guess my quality fence isn’t up to par?? ever look closely at one of his fences? mine is much better at 1/5th the cost. I mix my cement, they pour dry cement into a hole and spray water on top. I have no split or cracked boards. I didn’t throw garbage in my yard, break the sprinklers and trample my garden. I used ginger rock for the border not broken construction debris…
Grumpy, while I agree the word “give”can be taken many ways, I find it offensive in this case. I am extremely sorry for the loss Reuben Borg experienced but with all the electrical and combustible hazards found, I am relieved that the fire was in the middle of the night and not during the day when lives could have been in danger. That being said, I am disgusted that Reuben tries to paint himself as this benevolent person who graciously “gave” the name and building to Julie. I know exactly how much Julie had to pay for this “gift”. Tim Talk, if you care about being a professional journalist, which in this case you obviously didn’t , try to do a little fact checking before trying to make a deadline. One thing I do hope people get out of your article is the number of violations and “skipping” legal corners Reuben was operating under in his business, and obviously still is by moving a trailer on to the property without getting a permit. That alone speaks volumes about the character of his business.
Looked up information on “Borg” fencing on Yelp. Looks like there are now two separate companies: “Borg Fence” owned by Julie Borg, and “Reuben Borg Fence”. The Yelp customer review rating of “Borg Fence” is three stars out of five, which is borderline mediocre, while that of “Reuben Borg Fence” is four stars, which is a pretty good rating. So whatever else people may say about Reuben Borg here, it has to be admitted that he seems to take better care of his customers than the business now owned by his ex-wife. It’s pretty much of a no-brainer which of the two companies I would choose if I had a fence job.
So sorry for his loss, I have done business more than once with Reuben Borg and it has always been a pleasure.
Isn’t it typical that now that the building has burned the building inspector tells of all of the violations. Not having the facts I will not comment on the validity of those “violations” except to ask why was nothing done for all of that time? The reason is that our building inspectors and code enforcers act only on complaints. That’s why you see so many illegal signs blocking sidewalks downtown as well as many other code and safety violations. The inspectors sit in their offices all day and never venture outside to observe and cite the violators.
If the building inspection and code enforcement departments would actually do their jobs it is unlikely that serious violations would continue unabated.
Wow, can’t believe the personal attacks here. None of you were in the marriage. You just heard one side of the bitter outcome. The guy rebuilt a business and has suffered a terrible setback that could have shut him down. This is called resilience. Kicking him when he is down is just evil and mean spotited. Mind your own business.
Had encounters with both lousy BORG companies. Julie’s company I had to take to court because of shabby craftsmanship witch ( word choice , on purpose ) they finally were forced to fix. Julie’s company and her president were completely unprofessional and tried build outside of the contract her representative wrote. UNBELIEVABLE ! But they were forced to fix it. I will Never use Julie’s BORG FENCE AGAIN. And then there’s Ruben’s third world tactics his guys operate with. One of his guys who was driving around with a black dog in the front seat ( unsecured ) purposefully cut me off and than in a fit of roadrage jumped out of the truck and thought he was going to attack me physically. When Ruben was called he just brushed it under the carpet. I think it was Ruben’s family member.
Yeah, it didn’t seem like this had anything to do with a business. This is more about personal animus. Since I don’t know who either fence company is, and that the most interesting thing I can say about the fire is that I wondered what that early morning explosion was when I heard it, followed by fire trucks, I suppose I will just watch as the hatred spills out.
Usually, acrimony triggered by discussion of the division of a community estate in a divorce is from the families of the two parties in the divorce, so I’m going to suspect that this entire thread is being lead by the ex-wife’s group and that they’re rehashing some old bitterness. Which is a shame, because it’s really a private matter that no one else is going to want to see much the same way that we ask that people close bathroom doors when they use the bathroom. Oh well. At least I know which fence company not to use when I build a fence? Though I don’t know why I wouldn’t just buy a fence at Home Depot anyway…it is just a fence after all.
Wow.
I feel bad for the guy. Have to admire how quickly he’s back up and running. I’ve met Reuben a few times and have seen his work. Both solid.
Also what he’s doing by taking old boards and remilling them is just a really cool idea. Good luck Reuben.
@ Susan, et al,
Borg is also one of the priciest (if not priciest) fence companies when getting bids.
The Pleasanton Fire Department visits our building yearly to check out what we have going on here in case of a fire. I’m curious if the LPFD did the same for Borge. He’s been in business long enough and has had many dealings with Pleasanton building department to know what he was doing was wrong. Cheaters never prosper.
What?
“The entire building was being powered off a generator, large quantities of diesel fuel were being stored and dispensed in a dangerous manner, and many, significant electrical and combustible material ventilation hazards were observed.”
“Borg had a very sweet business going that he pointed out had almost zero carbon footprint.”
Alternative truth?
I have known Reuben Borg for many years and he runs a very strong company and in my opinion builds the best fence in the market because of the materials he uses and he is a very genuine and gives back to the community and mankind. Enough about that how about we try to help this company get back on their feet, keep over 50 people employed so their families can eat, and give them the respect they deserve. Reuben and company had their headquarters burn down to the ground and within days was back installing fencing without a hiccup. How about that for resilience!!!!! Coming from a divorce that left him with”Nothing”, unlike the ex-wifes fan club claims she paid for the business, obviously this person either drank the Kool Aid from the ex or she wasn’t part of the divorce because the truth is he left with nothing as he gave her a multimillion dollar business, house, and cars. Reubens last name is Borg correct, which she has kept all these years. She paid nothing Susan get your facts straight before you spread rumors…. So he has been kicked in the teeth again but because he is a resilient person he will prosper again. The Susans of the world should focus on their own families because I’m sure if they were involved in a catastrophe of this magnitude they would not have the strength to rebuild not once, and for sure not twice….
It’s unfortunate to hear of this fire. Fortunately, it appears no one was injured.
This appears to be a clear case of a business violating business codes, building permits, inspections, and storing large quantities of combustible diesel fuel.
Imagine if the fire killed or seriously injured one or more.
Borg, doesn’t seem to know what type of insurance if any, he has at all. Fire Insurance is business 101 for an industrial outdoor fencing company. Insurance companies won’t pay if they’re not given accurate business operation details. Which goes hand in hand with the insurance premium and risk.
If they cut corners on the building codes, permits, and inspections one could speculate the same could be true with his insurance.
This was all preventable.
I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that this was arson. Mr. Borg is deeply in debt and not paying his vendors(for months). Seems like good timing, to me! I hope someone follows up on this.
Turning a fire disaster into cheap discussion about what should be s private matter, namely a divorce, I have only this to say, BUTT OUT PEOPLE. That includes Mr Hunt and others here.