Cooling wort in AZ

First time poster, thanks for the help in advance!

I currently cool my wort in an ice bath and it has been working great (4th batch).  My question is two parts:

1)  I want to add a weld-less thermometer to my brew pot.  Will taking my wort from the burner to the ice bath ruin the thermometer when it it submerged or from the drastic temperature change?

2) If it will ruin it or you advise against the ice bath/pot thermometer method, how would you go about cooling sink water from 85-95ish before it enters an immersion wort chiller?

My first idea for question 2 is to chill it as low as i can with the immersion chiller then add cooled or room temp top up water to cool it a bit more.  I use purified water by the gallon and add gypsum.  Thank you

Another thread you may want to read on the subject of cooling: http://www.beersmith.com/forum/index.php/topic,11571.0.html

Thank you.  I read your reply to that post this morning.  After those ideas and some google searching, I am going to try

http://www.fermentarium.com/featured/building-a-recirculating-wort-chiller/

Sounds similar to what you and the others were talking about.

Here's how I chill when our ground water is warm to almost hot. It is a utility pump that pumps ice water through a chill plate.

How long does it take to chill to  pitching temps?

I've never timed it but, my guess would be about 15 minutes. It depends on adding ice as it melts. On a hot day I'll use 30 pounds.