I would like to setup a temporary user account to allow my programmers to build out my site, then at which time it is completed limit their access to just maintenance.
Hello,
Thanks for the question! If you give someone root access as the user "root" , then there is no "temporary root user" . At that point, they have FULL access. To add to the confusion, the root user is named "root". You can create SUDO users, but you would need to be familar with using the SU command in SSH logged in as the ROOT user. We don't provide guidance in using the command, but you can see information on it here.
Otherwise, I would suggest you give the access to Root as the "root" user. Then when they are finished with development, change the password.
I hope that helps to clarify the issue. If you have any further questions, please let us know. For more basic information on root user, please see What to do with Root Access.
Regards,
Arnel C.