Five black boxes filled with cremains sit on the floor of the Flathead County Treasurer’s office.

Those are her clients, says County Treasurer Adele Krantz, referring to the boxes in a neat line along her desk. As public administrator, Krantz manages estates of the dead without a personal representative, a service she’s provided in her role as county treasurer for the last 22 years.  

She’s struggled to find enough space to perform her duties as public administrator, however, since her office moved into the Flathead County North Complex building in 2022. County commissioners say it’s up to her to find a solution.  

Estates, which include the personal effects of those who have died, are held for 30 days after the decedent’s death before they can be liquidated, under Montana law. The public administrator uses this time to find potential heirs before selling any unclaimed items to the public.   

When her office was housed in the old Blue Building on First Avenue West, now the Flathead County West Courthouse, Krantz used supply rooms, and occasionally the conference room, to sort through belongings from larger estates.  

But in the North Complex, her only designated space is the Estate Room. Clothes, dishes, books and other items collected are stacked on shelves in the 250-square-foot room, available for sale.  

Krantz said she needs a separate place to store estate materials under the 30-day hold, since they can’t be accessed by the public. And as an elected county official, she believes she has a right to extra storage room. 

It’s not an issue if the decedent owned their house, she said, since the estates can be managed and sold from the property. But if the living space was rented or items were kept in a storage unit, she needs a new place to store them while sifting through records, cards and other personal items in search of any potential heir.  

“That’s where it gets kind of tricky,” Krantz said.   

She’s used empty office spaces as temporary storage while she sorted through the belongings, as well as the lobby of the Department of Motor Vehicles to display items for sale. But other county officials found this to be an inappropriate use of space.  

COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR Pete Melnick said he’s received complaints from county employees and the public since 2023 about estate inventory cluttering the North Complex.  

He asked Krantz three years ago what her plans were to remove the items, but she gave no “actionable response,” he told the Inter Lake.  

The issue was revisited in early 2024, when Krantz emailed Melnick and offered to rent the empty offices for storage. He rejected it, saying the offices were only for county employees and future tenants.  

The public administrator is considered a county office under state law.

“You are more than welcome to draft a formal request to liquidate material in a space other than your authorized location,” Melnick said in his email to Krantz.  

Krantz says she attempted to resolve the issue, but when she didn’t hear anything, she assumed the matter had been dropped.  

Two years later, Melnick sent another email to Krantz on Feb. 6 and asked her to remove estate material from a vacant office, since a new tenant was moving in.   

“I was not aware that materials were still being stored in this space, as I understood it had been vacated,” Melnick wrote in the email. 

Krantz asked him where she was expected to move the items, but he didn’t reply. 

Later that month, she received a letter from county commissioners on Feb. 24, asking her to remove all estate items outside of the Estate Room.  

An inspection by Marsh McLennan Agency, an insurance company, identified potential safety hazards, including possible black mold found on estate items and obstructed hallways from items, according to the commissioners’ letter and an email from the agency sent to the Inter Lake.  

An RV from one of Krantz’s cases also blocked available parking spaces outside the building, according to the letter. 

“If you believe additional space or accommodation is necessary, any such request must be submitted to the Board of Commissioners for consideration,” the commissioners’ letter read. 

County Commissioner Randy Brodehl told the Inter Lake he’s received requests for storage space from Krantz over the last year or so but said that’s not a responsibility of the county. Commissioners Pam Holmquist and Brad Abell did not respond to a request for comment.   

During a county commissioners meeting on March 3, Krantz aired her frustrations during a public hearing for a resolution to separate the role of public administrator from that of county treasurer.  

“I hope that the board [of commissioners] and the county administrator provide guidance, support and clear communication, so the new public administrator is successful,” Krantz said. “I have not been given those opportunities in the last two years.”   

The adopted resolution is effective Jan. 2, 2027, and a new public administrator will be appointed or hired by the commissioners. Brodehl said the separation was necessary, given the Flathead Valley’s recent population surge. 

On March 9, Krantz sent a letter to formally request a designated storage area from the county and place it on the commissioners’ agenda. 

“I have asked and pleaded for an area to store the estate items,” Krantz wrote. “When I respond either vocally or by email, I don’t receive a direct email giving me direction on where [Melnick] or the commissioners want the location to be.” 

Her request was denied, however, in another letter sent March 17. County officials suggested Krantz use funds from the estate account to rent a storage unit, an approach Missoula County has taken.  

In 2025, Krantz's gross income from processing estates was $49,949.23 before taxes, according to the Finance Director Amy Dexter. In 2024, she earned $71,250 and in 2023 she earned $19,107.90.  

Brodehl told the Inter Lake earlier in March that Krantz’s request would be denied, describing it as a “moot” point, reiterating that it’s not the county’s responsibility.  

Krantz said she was disappointed by the denial. Even though she’s compensated through her work, not all estates have the funds to rent storage, she said.  

“I will have to make do with what I have,” Krantz said. “I will cross that bridge when I come to it.” 

Report for America reporter Hannah Shields can be reached at (406) 758-4439 or [email protected]. If you value local journalism, pledge your support at dailyinterlake.com/support.

    Unclaimed belongings left behind by the dead sit for sale in the Estate Room at the North Complex Building. (Hannah Shields/Daily Inter Lake)
  

    Unclaimed belongings left behind by the dead sit for sale in the Estate Room at the North Complex Building. (Hannah Shields/Daily Inter Lake)