I think you misunderstood. When you pick option 2 you pay some gold and then get the exact same benefits of option 1 which makes option 2 sound like a worse option. However, there is a hidden potential benefit to option 2, namely the benefits named in part 3 of the event that I linked.
To sum it up:
Option 1: +1
on tile
Option 2: pay 100 gold, +1
on tile and a 67% chance of +3
and +1 free scientist in a nearby city.
(The 67% isn't mentioned in the linked list of events, but I got it from the xml-entry of the event. The linked list just talks about a chance, not that it is 67%.)
The problem I have with this is that a part of the bonus of option 2 is hidden (at least when you're not using sources of information outside of the game like I just did). That would be fitting for a roleplaying game, but not for a strategy game.