The village of North Syracuse has found a new leader for its parks and recreation department. The Village Board of Trustees appointed Tony Burkinshaw to the position of parks director at its Oct. 8 meeting.

Burkinshaw is currently the recreation supervisor for the town of Lysander. His appointment in North Syracuse is effective Nov. 30. Burkinshaw’s salary will be $53,000 per year.

During his tenure at Lysander, Burkinshaw has instituted the annual Lysander Community Camp-Out, taken over the Halloween window painting program in the village of Baldwinsville, hosted the area’s first outdoor pickleball tournament and, most famously, helped bring the controversial spray park project to fruition last year.

Lysander’s spray park recently was recognized by the Central New York Recreation and Parks Society and the New York State Recreation and Parks Society with the Exceptional Park Design Award.

“It’s definitely a feather in our cap,” Burkinshaw recently told Eagle Newspapers about the awards.