Daily Five: An Honor For Groton, An Executive Session And The RTM

1.  Today is Monday, May 7.  The National Weather Service predicts mostly sunny skies and a high temperature of 64 degrees. It will mostly cloudy tonight, with a low of 49 degrees and a chance of rain, mainly after 5 a.m.

2.  For the 17th year, the Arbor Day Foundation has named Groton a Tree City USA community for its commitment to urban forestry, according to a press release. Communities must beet four goals to win the honor: have a tree board or department; a tree-care ordinance, a forestry program that spends at least $2 per capita and an Arbor Day observance. The Arbor Day foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to planting trees.

3.  The Groton Board of Education will meet in executive session at 5:30 p.m. today in the school administration building to discuss the superintendent’s evaluation. Last summer, the board of education gave Superintendent Paul Kadri a "B+" on his overall evaluation and approved a one-year extension of his contract until June 30, 2014. Under the contract, Kadri is paid a base salary of $167,475 and was hired in 2008.

4.  Representative Town Meeting gathers at 7 p.m. today in the Groton Senior Center to continue deliberating the budget for the coming fiscal year. The group is expected to take up the budgets for parks and recreation, human services, economic development and the Flanders Road utility extension.

5.  Groton is working on an update of its plan of conversation and development, according to a report by the town manager. The Office of Planning and Development Services interviewed consulting firms on May 4 and the town will have one under contract before May 31.  When the plan is done, it will provide a blueprint for Groton's future physical and economic development.